MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES 


LIFE   AND    CHARACTER 


JOHN  FRANKLIN  MILLER, 

(A    SENATOR    FROM    CALIFORNIA), 


DELIVERED    IN   THE 


SENATE  AND  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 


FORTY-NINTH  CONGRESS,  FIRST  SESSION, 


MAY  28  AND  JUNE  19,  1886, 


WITH    THE 


FUNERAL  SERVICES  AT  THE  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON,  MARCH  13, 
AND  AT  SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL.,  MARCH  21,  1886. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT      PRINTING      OFFICE. 
1887. 


9318  MIL 


CHAP.  636.— An  act  to  authorize  the  printing  of  the  eulogies  delivered  in  Congress  upon 
the  late  John  F.  Miller. 

Be  it  ena'ted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  there  be  printed  of  the 
eulogies  delivered  in  Congress  upon  the  late  John  F.  Miller,  a  Senator 
from  California,  prepared  under  the  direction  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
Public  Printing,  twelve  thousand  copies,  of  which  four  thousand  shall  be 
for  the  use  of  the  Senate  and  eight  thousand  for  the  use  of  the  House  of 
Representatives ;  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  hereby  directed  to 
have  printed  a  portrait  of  said  John  F.  Miller,  to  accompany  said  eulo- 
gi:s  :  and  for  engraving  and  printing  said  portrait  the  sum  of  five  hun- 
dred dollars,  or  so  much  as  may  be  necessary,  is  hereby  appropriated  out 
of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

Approved,  July  6,  1886. 


JOHN    FRANKLIN  MILLER. 


FUNERAL  SERVICES  AT  WASHINGTON  AND  SAN  FRANCISCO, 

On  Monday,  the  8th  day  of  March,  1886,  General  JOHN 
FRANKLIN  MILLER,  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  from  the 
State  of  California,  died  at  his  residence  on  Connecticut 
avenue,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  after  a  long  and  painful 
illness,  which  he  bore  with  heroic  fortitude.  The  remote 
cause  of  his  death  may  unquestionably  be  traced  back  to 
wounds  he  had  received  while  fighting  the  battles  of  his 
country  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  and  especially  a  gun- 
shot wound  received  in  June,  1863,  while  leading  his  brigade 
in  a  charge  on  the  enemy's  entrenchments  at  Liberty  Gap,, 
Tennessee.  This  wound  destroyed  the  sight  of  his  left  eye>. 
the  ball — an  Enfield  rifle  bullet — remaining  in  the  bones  back 
of  the  eye,  and  in  contact  with  the  brain,  for  over  twelve 
years,  when  it  was  extracted  by  the  surgeons.  During  all  this 
time  he  suffered  intensely  and  his  system  was  racked  and 
weakened  by  pain,  so  that  he  fell  an  easy  prey  to  disease,, 
which  found  nothing  to  resist  its  ravages  but  an  indom- 
itable will,  whose  strength  doubtless  prolonged  his  life  for- 
many  years. 

At  a  regular  session  of  the  Senate  held  on  that  day,  Mr. 
LELAND  STANFORD,  a  United  States  Senator  from  the  State 
of  California,  arose  in  his  place  and  made  the  following  an- 
nouncement : 

Mr.  STANFORD.  Mr.  President,  it  becomes  my  painful  duty 
to  inform  you  of  the  death  of  my  colleague,  General  JOHN 

3 


4  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

F.  MILLER,  who  departed  this  life  this  afternoon  at  twenty 
minutes  past  2  o'clock,  after  a  long  and  severe  illness.  I  move 
that  the  Senate,  out  of  respect  to  his  memory,  adjourn. 

Mr.  GIBSON.  Mr.  President,  I  rise  to  second  the  motion. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  It  is  moved  and  seconded 
that  the  Senate,  in  respect  to  the  memory  of  our  colleague 
who  has  recently  died,  do  now  adjourn. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to  ;  and  (at  3  o'clock  and  20  min 
utes  p.  m.)  the  Senate  adjourned. 

On  the  same  day  Mr.  WILLIAM  W.  MORROW,  a  Representa- 
tive in  Congress  from  the  State  of  California,  arose  in  his 
place  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and  announced  Senator 
MILLER'S  death,  in  the  following  words  : 

Mr.  MORROW.  Mr.  Speaker,  the  melancholy  duty  de- 
volves upon  me  to  announce  the  death  of  Senator  JOHN  F. 
MILLER,  of  California,  who  died  in  this  city  after  a  prolonged 
illness.  Congress  will  undoubtedly  set  apart  some  day  here- 
after for  the  purpose  of  giving  expression  to  the  sentiment 
entertained  for  the  character  and  great  public  services  of 
Senator  MILLER.  As  a  mark  of  respect  for  the  memory  of 
the  deceased  Senator,  I  move  the  adoption  of  the  following 
resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  the  House  has  received  with  profound  sorrow  the  intel- 
ligence of  the  death  of  Senator  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  of  California. 
Resolved,  That  out  of  respect  to  his  memory  this  House  do  now  adjourn. 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted ;  and  accord- 
ingly (at  4  o'clock  and  5  minutes  p.  m.)  the  House  ad- 
journed. 

On  Wednesday,  the  llth  day  of  March,  the  following  pro- 
ceedings were  had  in  the  Senate  : 

Mr.  STANFORD.  Mr.  President,  I  ask  the  unanimous  con- 
sent of  the  Senate  to  offer  a  series  of  resolutions  at  this  time. 


Funeral  Services.  5 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  resolutions  will  be  read. 
The  resolutions  were  read,  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death, 
of  Hon.  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  late  a  Senator  from  California. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  Senators  be  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent pro  tempore  of  the  Senate  to  take  order  for  superintending  the 
funeral  of  Mr.  MILLER,  and  that,  as  a  mark  of  respect  entertained  by  the 
Senate  for  his  memory,  his  remains  be  removed  from  Washington  to 
California  in  charge  of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  and  attended  by  said  com- 
mittee, who  shall  have  full  power  to  carry  this  resolution  into  effect. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  communicate  the  foregoing 
resolutions  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  the  adop- 
tion of  the  resolutions. 

The  resolutions  were  agreed  to  unanimously;  and  Mr. 
JONES  of  Nevada,  Mr.  FRYE,  Mr.  CULLOM,  Mr.  BUTLER,  and 
Mr.  GRAY  were  appointed  as  the  committee  under  the  second 
resolution. 

Mr.  FRYE  submitted  the  following  resolution ;  which  was 
considered  by  unanimous  consent,  and  agreed  to  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  invite  the  House  of  Representatives  to 
attend  the  funeral  ceremony  of  Hon.  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  late  a  Senator  from 
the  State  of  California,  in  the  Senate  Chamber  on  Saturday,  March  13,  at 
12  o'clock  m. 

Mr.  FRYE  submitted  the  following  resolution;  which  was 
considered  by  unanimous  consent,  and  agreed  to  : 

Resolved,  That  invitation  be  extended  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  the  members  of  his  Cabinet,  the  Chief-Justice  and  the  asso- 
ciate justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  the  diplo- 
matic corps,  to  attend  the  funeral  ceremony  of  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  late  a- 
Senator  from  the  State  of  California,  in  the  Senate  Chamber  on  Saturday, 
the  13th  of  March,  at  12  o'clock. 

The  foregoing  having  been  reported  to  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives on  the  same  day,  the  following  proceedings  were 
had  there  : 


($  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

Mr.  MORROW.  Mr.  Speaker,  the  resolution  reported  from 
the  Senate  concerning  arrangements  to  be  made  for  the 
funeral  escort  of  Senator  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  of  California, 
contemplates  that  similar  action  be  taken  on  the  part  of 
the  House,  and  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  co-operate 
with  the  Senate  committee  in  accompanying  the  remains  to 
California.  I  therefore  offer  the  resolution  which  I  send 
to  the  desk  and  ask  its  present  consideration. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  resolution  will  be  read. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  a  special  committee  of  seven  members  of  the  House  be 
appointed  by  the  Speaker  to  accompany  a  similar  committee  appointed 
by  the  Senate  to  escort  the  remains  of  Senator  JOHN  F.  MILLER  from  Wash- 
ington to  California. 

The  resolution  was  agreed  to. 

On  the  12th  of  March  the  Senate  resolution  inviting  the 
House  of  Representatives  to  attend  the  funeral  ceremonies 
of  Senator  MILLER  having  been  presented  by  the  Chair,  the 
following  proceedings  were  had  : 

Mr.  MORROW.  I  offer  the  resolution  which  I  send  to  the 
desk  in  relation  to  the  subject-matter  of  the  Senate  resolu- 
tion. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  the  House  accept  the  invitation  of  the  Senate  and  attend 
in  a  body  the  funeral  services  of  the  late  Senator  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  of  Cali-- 
fornia,  in  the  Senate  Chamber  on  Saturday,  March  13,  at  12  o'clock  m. 

The  resolution  was  agreed  to. 

During  the  session  of  the  Senate  the  same  day  there  was 
received  a  message  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  by 
Mr.  T.  O.  TOWLES,  its  Chief  Clerk,  announcing  that  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  had  appointed  Mr.  JOSEPH  McKEXXA, 
of  California;  Mr.  J.  THOMAS  SPRIGGS,  of  New  York  ;  Mr. 


Funeral  Services.  7 

J.  A.  LOUTTIT,  of  California;  Mr.  J.  B.  MORGAN,  of  Missis- 
sippi; Mr.  WILLIAM  P.  HEPBURN,  of  IOWA;  Mr.  POLK  LAF- 
FOON,  of  Kentucky,  and  Mr.  SETH  L.  MILLIKEN,  of  Maine, 
the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  House  to  accompany  a  sim- 
ilar committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate  to  escort  the  remains 
of  the  late  Senator  JOHN  F.  MILLER  from  Washington  to 
California. 

On  the  morning  of  Saturday,  March  13,  after  a  brief 
prayer  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  LEONARD  at  the  house,  in  the  pres- 
ence only  of  the  family  and  a  few  of  the  immediate  friends  of 
the  deceased,  the  casket  containing  his  remains  was  escorted 
from  his  late  home  on  Connecticut  avenue  to  the  Capitol 
by  an  imposing  cortege,  headed  by  the  Marine  Band,  playing 
dirges,  and  marshaled  by  the  Commandery  of  the  Loyal 
Legion  for  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  route  of  the  pro- 
cession lay  south  on  Connecticut  avenue  to  K  street ;  east 
on  K  street  to  Massachusetts  avenue  ;  along  Massachusetts 
avenue  to  Delaware  avenue  ;  thence  south  on  Delaware 
avenue  to  the  Capitol  grounds,  where  it  halted  in  front  of 
the  main  entrance  to  the  Capitol.  Here,  while  the  band 
played  "  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,"  the  casket  was  borne  by 
the  pall-bearers  up  the  broad  flight  of  steps,  followed  by  the 
family  and  friends,  and  escorted  into  the  Senate  Chamber, 
where  it  was  placed  in  front  of  the  President's  chair.  The 
pall-bearers  were  Messrs.  STANFORD,  BECK,  HOAR,  VOOR- 
HEES,  and  HARRISON,  on  the  part  of  the  Senate ;  Messrs. 
FELTON,  MORROW,  RANDALL,  HISCOCK,  and  TUCKER,  on 
the  part  of  the  House  of  Representatives  ;  and  Dr.  J.  M. 
BROWN,  U.  S.  N.,  General  ABSALOM  BAIRD.  U.  S.  A.,  Ad 
miral  T.  A.  JENKINS,  U.  S.  N.,  General  A.  B.  BIRNEY, 
General  W.  S.  ROSECRANS,  General  GREEN  B.  RAUM,  Gen- 
eral N.  L.  ANDERSON,  and  General  R.  B.  MUSSEY,  on  the 
part  of  the  Loyal  Legion. 


8  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

The  casket,  of  solid  copper,  inclosing  a  cedar  silk-and- 
satin-lined  case,  was  similar  to  that  in  which  the  remains  of 
General  Grant  were  interred.  A  plate-glass  top  afforded  a 
view  of  the  features  of  the  deceased.  A  silver  plate  bore 
simply  the  full  name  and  dates  of  birth  and  death. 

The  funeral  services  were  held  in  the  Senate  on  Saturday, 
March  13. 

The  Chaplain,  Rev.  E.  D.  HUNTLEY,  D.  D.,  offered  the 
following  prayer: 

"  Let  us  pray. 

"Almighty  God,  help  us  to  come  into  Thy  presence  with 
thanksgiving,  and  into -Thy  courts  with  praise;  for  that 
Thou  art  good,  Thy  wondrous  works  declare  ;  and  Thy 
goodness  extendeth  even  unto  us,  for  as  individuals  Thou 
hast  greatly  blessed  us,  and  as  a  nation  Thou  hast  set  us  as  a 
city  upon  a  hill  whose  light  can  not  be  hid. 

"Grant,  we  pray  Thee,  that  the  light  which  is  within  us 
may  never  become  darkness,  but  may  it  be  so  replenished  that 
across  the  darkest  night  our  institutions  may  flash  signals  of 
encouragement  and  cheer  to  the  weary,  heavy  laden  peoples 
of  the  earth. 

"Again  Thy  servant  Death  has  come  among  us  and  brought 
a  glad  relief  to  a  weary,  patient  sufferer.  We  thank  Thee 
that  our  brother  was  enabled  through  grace  to  triumph  in 
the  presence  of  forces  which  dissolved  this  earthly  taber- 
nacle and  hastened  his  moving  into  the  building  of  God,  that 
house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  Help 
us  to  live  like  him,  that  like  him  we  also  may  know,  when 
our  heart  and  our  flesh  faileth,  what  it  is  to  have  Thee  as  the 
strength  of  our  heart  and  our  portion  forever. 

"  We  beg  the  sweet  ministries  of  grace  for  the  afflicted 
family.  Accompany  them  on  their  sad,  long,  lonely  journey 
to  their  distant  home;  and  in  Thine  own  good  time  may  they 


Funeral  Services.  9 

be  permitted  to  rejoice  again  in  the  companionship  of  him 
who  has  preceded  them  into  the  region  of  the  blessed,  the 
land  of  the  hereafter. 

"We  ask  it  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  Mediator 
and  Redeemer.  Amen." 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  By  order  of  the  Senate  the 
usual  business  will  be  suspended  this  day  to  enable  the 
Senate  to  participate  in  the  funeral  ceremonies  deemed 
appropriate  on  the  death  of  Jo.  N  F.  MILLER,  late  an 
honored  member  of  this  body  from  the  State  of  California. 

At  five  minutes  past  12  o'clock  the  members  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  preceded  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  and 
Clerk,  and  headed  by  the  Speaker  and  Chaplain,  entered  the 
Senate  Chamber.  The  Speaker  was  escorted  to  a  seat  at  the 
right  of  the  President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate;  the  Clerk 
and  Chaplain  at  the  Secretary's  desk;  and  the  members  of 
the  House  were  escorted  to  the  seats  on  the  floor  provided 
for  them. 

They  were  soon  followed  by  the  Chief -Justice  and  associate 
justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  clad  in 
their  robes,  the  diplomatic  corps  attired  in  full  court  cos- 
tumes, and  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  Ministers,  who 
were  respectively  escorted  to  the  seats  assigned  them  on  the 
floor  of  the  Senate  Chamber. 

At  half  past  12  o'clock  the  casket  containing  the  remains  of 
the  deceased  Senator  was  brought  into  the  Senate  Chamber, 
preceded  by  Rev.  WILLIAM  A.  LEONARD,  D.  D. ,  rector  of 
Saint  John's  Church,  of  Washington  City,  and  escorted  by 
the  committees  of  arrangements  of  the  two  Houses  and  pall- 
bearers selected  from  the  Loyal  Legion;  and  followed  by 
members  of  the  family  and  friends  of  the  deceased. 

The  burial  service  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  with  appro- 
priate collects  from  the  offices  of  the  church,  was  read  by 
Rev.  Dr.  LEONARD. 


10  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

The  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Rev.  Dr.  HUNTLEY, 
Chaplain  of  the  Senate. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  iempore.  The  funeral  ceremonies 
deemed  appropriate  to  this  occasion  in  the  Senate  Chamber 
are  now  terminated.  We  consign  all  that  is  mortal  of  our 
brother  to  the  custody  of  an  officer  of  the  Senate  and  a  com- 
mittee of  its  members,  to  be  conveyed  to  his  home  on  the 
Pacific,  and  there  committed  for  burial  to  those  who  have 
honored  him  and  loved  him  so  much  when  living.  The  Sen- 
ate as  a  body  will  now  attend  the  remains  to  the  station. 

Mr.  CONGER.  I  move  that  the  Senate  adjourn  with  a  view 
to  attend  the  funeral  to  the  station. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to ;  and  (at  12  o'clock  and  5  0  min- 
utes p.  m.)  the  Senate  adjourned. 

On  this  occasion  the  Senate  paid  an  extraordinary  mark 
of  respect  to  the  memory  of  their  deceased  colleague  by  fol- 
lowing on  foot  his  remains  to  the  railway  station,  whence 
they  were  to  be  taken  to  California.  The  only  other  time  in 
all  its  history  that  this  action  has  been  taken  by  the  Senate 
was  on  the  occasion  of  the  funeral  of  Charles  Sumner,  a  Sena- 
tor from  Massachusetts. 

The  Marine  Band  headed  the  procession,  which  comprised, 
besides  the  Senate,  the  Loyal  Legion  Com.man.dery,  and 
thousands  of  citizens  of  the  several  States,  who  thus  testified 
the  respect  in  which  they  held  the  memory  of  the  deceased 
statesman. 

The  testimonials  of  respect  to  Senator  MILLER  were 
widespread,  and  extended  from  Washington  City  to  San 
Francisco.  Everywhere  that  the  funeral  train  bearing  his 
remains  halted,  friends  flocked  to  drop  flowers  and  tears  on 
the  casket  and  to  tender  words  of  sympathy  to  the  family. 

The  demonstrations  of  grief  and  expressions  of  synipa- 


Funeral  Services.  H 

thy  were  national  in  their  character,  because  Senator  MIL- 
LER'S reputation  was  national,  and  because  he  had  friends 
in  every  State  and  Territory. 

The  funeral  train  had  hardly  begun  the  descent  of  the 
western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  when  the 
people  of  the  Pacific  Slope  came  out  with  uncovered  heads  to 
meet  it  and  to  place  a  guard  of  honor  over  the  remains  of 
their  beloved  Senator. 

At  Colfax  a  delegation  from  San  Francisco  waited  with  a 
special  car  to  join  the  funeral  train.  In  that  party  were 
General  DIMOND,  General  C.  R.  THOMPSON,  and  Colonel  A. 
G.  HAWES,  representing  the  Loyal  Legion,  and  the  general 
committees  and  management  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public and  Sons  of  Veterans.  Senator  JOHN  P.  JONES,  of 
Nevada,  on  behalf  of  the  Congressional  delegation  accom- 
panying the  remains,  transferred  their  charge  to  the  mili- 
tary organizations  with  these  words : 

"  Mr.  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  George  H.  Thomas 
Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  Gentlemen  :  Obedi- 
ent to  the  commands  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  we 
have  accompanied  the  remains  of  your  late  distinguished  rep- 
resentative to  the  &tate  which  had  honored  him  and  which 
in  turn  he  had  honored  by  faithful  and  intelligent  services. 
It  is  less  than  six  years  since  California  commissioned  him 
to  represent  her  in  the  Senate,  but  his  career  was  so  crowded 
with  brilliant  and  varied  services  that  the  time  seemed  longer. 

"  The  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  associates  found 
expression  in  his  early  assignment  to  the  chairmanship  of 
one  of  the  most  important  committees  of  the  body.  This 
is  neither  the  time  nor  place  to  pronounce  his  eulogy.  The 
Senate  will,  in  accordance  with  time-honored  usage,  set 
apart  a  day  upon  which  it  will  place  imperishably  on  the 
record  its  high  appreciation  of  his  character  and  the  patri- 


12  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

otic  services  which  he  has  rendered  the  country.  The  griev- 
ous wounds  which  he  received  in  his  country's  defense  wore 
heavily  upon  him  and  shortened  his  life's  journey.  While, 
under  the  providence  of  God,  he  did  not  die  amid  the  roar 
of  battle  and  the  din  of  charging  squadrons,  yet  he  yielded 
up  his  life  at  his  post  of  duty  in  the  National  Capital  of  a 
happy  and  reunited  country.  Our  mournful  mission  is  ended 
by  committing  to  the  charge  of  his  comrades  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  the  mortal  part  of  JOHN  FRANKLIN 
MILLER." 

At  Sacramento  the  funeral  party  was  joined  by  another 
large  military  and  civic  delegation.  The  train  halted  at  the 
capital  city  for  an  hour  or  two,  and  hundreds  of  people, 
among  whom  were  many  old  soldiers,  gathered  around  the 
train  with  uncovered  heads.  When  the  train  reached  San 
Francisco  a  great  crowd  on  foot  and  in  carriages  awaited  it 
and  formed  an  escort  for  the  party  to  the  mortuary  chapel 
of  Trinity  Church,  where  the  casket  was  deposited.  While 
the  remains  lay  in  state  they  were  visited  by  thousands  of 
people,  the  whole  Pacific  Slope  seemingly  joining  in  the  ex- 
pressions of  grief,  and  at  the  funeral,  on  Sunday,  March  21, 
1886,  every  town  of  importance  was  represented  by  its  dele- 
gation of  citizens. 

The  funeral  took  place  at  Trinity  Church  on  Sunday  after- 
noon, at  2  o'clock.  It  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  dem- 
onstrations of  the  affection  of  the  people  for  a  friend  and 
trusted  leader  ever  witnessed  on  the  Pacific  Slope.  The  floral 
offerings  that  filled  the  chancel  of  the  church  were  numerous, 
fitting,  and  superb.  The  dim  aisles  bloomed  like  a  magnifi- 
cent green-house,  and  the  mild  air  that  pulsed  with  the  ma- 
jestic melancholy  of  martial  funeral  dirges  was  as  heavy 
with  sweet  odors  as  it  was  with  sad  strains. 

At  11  o'clock  in  the  morning  people  began  to  gather  about 


Funeral  Services.  13 

the  church  door.  The  crowd  kept  swelling  until  it  extended 
in  quadruple  lines  on  both  sides  of  the  roadway  from  the 
portals  of  the  church  to  the  entrance  to  Laurel  Hill  Ceme- 
tery, where  the  interment  took  place. 

The  services  in  the  church  were  brief,  beautiful,  and  im- 
pressive. After  the  casket  had  been  deposited  in  front  of 
the  chancel,  the  choir  sang  the  burial  anthem  of  the  service, 
and  afterwards  "Rock  of  Ages "  was  rendered  by  a  quartet. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  BEERS,  pastor,  spoke  as  follows: 

' '  I  speak  in  compliance  with  a  request,  which  in  this  case 
amounts  to  a  command.  My  words  are  as  well  the  prompting 
of  admiring  and  loving  friendship,  but  at  the  same  time  the 
utterances  of  sober  truth.  This  is  one  of  the  rare  occasions 
when  truth  is  eulogy  and  the  language  of  panegyric  does  not 
outmeasure  the  just  meed  of  appreciation  due  to  high  per- 
sonal character,  large  and  well-applied  endowments,  and 
great  public  services.  This  is  proved  in  the  present  case  by 
the  widespread  shock  caused  by  the  death  of  Senator  MILLER 
and  the  universal  sorrow  experienced  at  a  loss  not  soon  nor 
easily  repaired.  If  human  sympathy  can  ever  avail  to  alle- 
viate the  pangs  of  irreparable  bereavement,  these  mourning 
ones  may  remember  that  they  are  encircled  with  the  heart- 
felt and  loving  sympathy  of  a  whole  people,  and  that  the 
tears  of  a  community,  a  State,  and  a  nation  mingle  with  those 
they  shed.  Though  called  away  in  the  meridian  of  life,  our 
friend  lived  long  enough  to  outstep  the  bounds  of  local  and 
State  recognition,  and  to  become  a  conspicuous  figure  on  the 
stage  of  national  activities.  It  will  be  difficult  to  recall  a 
parallel  in  modern  times  of  a  Senator  almost  from  the  first 
day  challenging  recognition  as  a  man  of  mark  in  so  august 
and  able  a  body  as  the  upper  house  of  Congress,  and  having 
had  accorded  him  so  responsible  and  honorable  a  position  as 
the  chairmanship  of  Foreign  Affairs.  We  may  also  recall 


14  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

the  fact  that  to  him  is  largely  due  the  widespread  attention 
now  given  by  statesmen  and  thinkers  to  the  question  of  Mon- 
golian immigration,  as  touching  some  of  the  deepest  and  most 
vital  interests  of  present  and  future  generations.  His 
achievements  as  a  soldier  preceded  by  his  career  in  civil  life. 
His  coolness,  judgment,  and  daring  in  battle  brought  him 
warm  commendation  from  his  comrades  and  superiors.  But 
Senator  MILLER  manifested  in  various  ways,  official  and  per- 
sonal, his  fidelity  and  consistency  in  another  sphere  of  life 
and  duty.  He  '  adorned  the  doctrine  of  God,  our  Saviour,  in 
all  things,'  and  was  a  good  soldier  of  Christ,  and  when  words 
were  no  more  possible,  signified  by  gesture  that  his  faith  did 
not  fail  or  falter.  And  so,  full  of  honors  but  not  of  years, 
with  all  earthly  ministries  that  could  make  life  desirable — a 
home  the  abode  of  peace  and  love,  and  troops  of  friends, 
great  gifts,  abundance  of  wealth  and  wide  influence — our 
friend  has  passed  away,  leaving  those  who  survive  the  price- 
less heritage  of  an  example  as  perfect  and  pure  as  possible  to 
the  frailty  of  man.  Senator  MILLER  died  a  martyr  to  duty. 
What  the  bullets  of  Stone  River  and  Liberty  Gap  failed  to 
do,  unmeasured  application  to  the  most  difficult  and  delicate 
work  assigned  to  him  accomplished.  And  so  the  stateliness 
of  earth — soldier,  Senator,  citizen,  Christian — a  modern  Bay- 
ard, without  fear  and  without  reproach.  '  Blessed  are  the 
dead  who  die  in  the  Lord,  for  they  rest  from  their  labors  and 
their  works  do  follow  them.'" 

The  service  closed  with  Dyke's  hymn,  "Lead,  Kindly 
Light,"  by  the  full  choir,  and  the  reading  of  a  passage  from 
Scripture.  As  the  casket  was  borne  out  "  Nearer,  my  God, 
to  Thee"  was  sung. 

The  route  from  the  church  to  the  cemetery  was  several 
miles  in  length,  but  it  was  lined  with  spectators,  and  sym- 
bols of  mourning  were  observed  in  all  directions.  Flags 


Funeral  Services.  15 

floating  at  half-mast,  furled  banners  of  the  Grand  Army 
posts,  drums  covered  with  black  cloth,  and  many  other 
tokens  attested  the  reason  for  the  immense  gathering  on  the 
thoroughfares.  The  spectacle  presented  by  the  procession 
as  it  went  over  the  swelling  hills  was  extremely  impressive. 
All  the  National  Guards  of  San  Francisco  and  Oakland 
marched  at  its  head  to  the  music  of  funeral  dirges  and  the 
beat  of  muffled  drums.  The  Third  and  First  Regiments 
followed  with  reversed  arms.  At  the  head  of  the  posts  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  with  whom  marched  the  Con- 
federate Veterans  of  California,  an  old  negro  carried  the 
banner  of  the  Department  of  California.  Surrounding  the 
hearse  were  the  pall-bearers,  Governor  GEORGE  STONEMAN, 
ex-Governor  F.  F.  Low,  ex-Senator  NEWTON  BOOTH,  ex- 
Senator  A.  A.  SARGENT,  Judge  LORENZO  SAWYER,  General 
CHAUNCEY  MCKEEVER,  Commodore  RUSSELL,  Louis  SLOSS, 
LEWIS  GERSTLE,  WILLIAM  KOHL,  G.  NIEBAUM,  WILLIAM 
ALVORD,  W.  T.  COLEMAN,  WILLIAM  L,  MERRY,  W.  W. 
MONTAGUE,  JULES  CERF,  IRVING  M.  SCOTT,  WILLIAM  T. 
GARRATT,  CHARLES  S.  SUMNER,  WILLIAM  T.  PEABODY, 
Chancellor  HARTSON,  Judge  JOHN  CURRY,  Colonel  J.  P. 
HOGE,  General  W.  L.  ELLIOTT,  Colonel  A.  G.  HAWES, 
CHARLES  E.  WILSON,  General  W.  H.  DIMOND.  Preceding 
the  hearse,  which  was  followed  by  carriages  containing  the 
family  and  near  relatives,  were  four  carriages  in  which  rode 
the  Congressional  delegation.  The  Loyal  Legion  and  the 
Veteran  Guard  of  the  George  H.  Thomas  Post  acted  as  a 
special  escort  to  the  remains.  The  funeral  procession  was 
something  more  than  two  miles  long. 

The  spot  selected  for  the  interment  of  Senator  MILLER'S 
remains  is  about  half  way  up  the  sloping  and  verdant  hill 
side  that  forms  the  larger  part  of  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery,  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  burying-grounds  in  the  country.  The 
day  was  perfect.  The  odor  of  springtime  filled  the  air. 


16  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

The  consequence  was  that  a  large  throng  of  spectators 
poured  into  the  cemetery  and  pressed  about  the  grave. 
When  the  military  companies  and  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public posts  arrived  they  formed  in  line  along  the  roadway 
to  the  place  of  burial. 

The  services  at  the  grave  were  conducted  by  the  Thomas 
Post.  When  the  casket,  which  was  draped  with  the  flag  of 
the  post  and  loaded  with  white  flowers,  was  set  over  the' 
mouth  of  the  grave,  Dr.  BEERS  read  the  Episcopal  burial 
service. 

Commander  WILSON,  of  the  post,  then  said  : 

"  We  are  assembled  to  pay  the  last  sad  rites  to  the  mem- 
ory of  a  soldier  of  the  Republic.  The  chaplain  will  offer 
prayer. " 

After  Chaplain  MATTHEWS  had  done  so,  and  the  Masonic 
Quartet  had  sung  "  The  Lord  is  My  Shepherd,''  Commander 
WILSON  spoke,  saying  : 

"  Memory  carries  us  back  to  the  time  when  shoulder  to 
shoulder  we  fought  for  the  dear  old  flag.  May  the  dangers 
encountered  and  bravely  overcome  by  our  dead  hero  be  an 
encouragement  to  the  youth  of  this  country  when  called 
upon  to  fight  in  its  defense.  As  a  soldier  he  was  loyal, 
patriotic,  and  brave ;  as  a  statesman,  he  was  able  and  vigor- 
ous, and  true  to  every  trust  reposed  in  him ;  as  a  citizen, 
he  was  upright,  charitable,  and  humane;  and  in  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life  he  was  the  noblest  work  of  God,  an  honest  man. 
He  has  left  behind  the  aroma  of  a  worthy  life.  Tenderly, 
reverently,  and  affectionately  do  we  commit  his  body  to  the 
earth." 

General  GOULD  then  said:  "On  behalf  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  I  place  this  tribute  on  our  comrade's 
coffin  as  a  symbol  of  undying  love."  He  deposited  a  wreath 
on  the  casket. 


Funeral  Services.  17 

"As  a  symbol  of  purity,"  said  Comrade  T.  H.  GOODMAN, 
laying  a  white  rose  tied  with  ribbon  on  the  coffin,  "  I  place 
this,  here.  May  future  generations  emulate  the  character  of 
him  whose  ashes  lie  below." 

General  W.  H.  L.  BARNES  put  the  laurel  on  the  coffin  and 
said  in  sonorous  tones  :  "As  a  token  of  affection  for  our  de- 
ceased comrade  in  arms,  I  crown  his  remains  with  this  em- 
blem of  victory." 

Chaplain  MATTHEWS  read  the  Grand  Army  service,  the 
Masonic  Quartet  sang  "  Thy  Will  Be  Done,"  and  after  the 
prayer  the  casket  was  lowered  into  the  vault,  where  it  was 
placed  under  the  slab  on  which  rests  the  remains  of  the 
young  son  of  the  deceased.  The  three  companies  of  the 
National  Guard,  commanded  by  Colonel  WILDER,  fired  three 
volleys  over  the  grave. 

Many  of  the  large  and  elaborate  floral  offerings  which 
had  been  placed  in  the  church  were  set  about  the  grave. 
The  remains  of  the  dead  Senator  were  literally  buried  in 
flowers. 

9318  MIL 2 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE, 


The  27th  day  of  May  having  been  designated  and  set  apart 
by  the  Senate  as  the  day  upon  which  addresses  in  commem- 
oration of  the  life  and  services  of  General  MILLER  should  be 
delivered,  the  following  proceedings  were  had  there  : 

Mr.  STANFORD.  Mr.  President,  in  accordance  with  the 
notice  given  some  time  ago  that  on  this  day  I  would  move 
certain  resolutions  in  reference  to  my  late  colleague,  JOHN 
F.  MILLER:  I  beg  to  offer  resolutions. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  resolutions  will  be 
read. 

The  Chief  Clerk  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death 
of  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  late  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  California. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased,  the 
business  of  the  Senate  be  now  suspended  to  enable  his  associates  to  pay 
proper  tribute  of  regard  to  his  high  character  and  distinguished  public 
services. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  communicate  these  resolu- 
tions to  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  resolutions  were  agreed  to  unanimously. 


Address  of  Mr.  STANFORD,  of  California. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  Senate  is  asked  this  afternoon  to  sus- 
pend its  regular  business  in  order  that  the  last  tributes  to 
the  memory  of  Senator  JOHN  F.  MILLER  can  be  paid  by  his 
former  associates  of  this  body. 


20  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  3liller. 

The  character  and  public  services  of  the  distinguished  de- 
ceased are  deserving  of  public  and  official  recognition.  The 
people  of  California  have  already  performed  this  office.  The 
expressions  voiced  by  them  have  been  that  the  nation  has 
lost  a  worthy,  faithful,  and  devoted  servant,  an  exemplary 
citizen,  and  an  honored  Senator. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  8th  of  March,  Senator  MILLER 
passed  from  mortal  life  after  a  long  and  painful  illness.  We 
had  been  led  to  believe  and  had  hoped  that  he  would  be  able 
to  attend  this  session  of  the  Senate.  When  he  came  to  this 
city,  in  December  last,  from  his  distant  home  in  California, 
he  had  strong  hopes  of  resuming  his  official  duties,  but  it 
was  ordered  otherwise.  During  his  illness  I  frequently  saw 
him,  and  found  him  always  hopeful  for  the  best  and  extremely 
desirous  of  resuming  his  Senatorial  labors.  As  the  winter 
closed  he  thought  that  with  the  incoming  of  spring  he  would 
gain  strength  enough  to  resist  the  ranges  of  his  disease  for 
a  short  time,  even  if  he  did  not  permanently  regain  his  full 
health.  At  one  time  it  seemed  as  if  his  will  power  and 
strength  would  be  sufficient,  but  his  strength  failed  him. 

He  passed  into  the  other  world  surrounded  by  those  most 
dear  to  him  on  this  earth. 

General  MILLER  was  descended  from  two  of  the  most  re- 
spected families  of  Virginia,  and  was  of  Swiss-Scotch  ex- 
traction, his  progenitor  on  his  father's  side  having  left  Switz- 
erland to  find  in  America  what  was  denied  him  in  the  land 
of  his  birth — the  freedom  to  worship  God  in  accordance  with 
the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience;  while  his  paternal  grand- 
mother's family  were  from  Scotland.  In  the  first  decade  of 
the  present  century  his  grandfather  and  father,  who  were 
•then  located  in  Franklin  County,  Virginia,  decided  on  leav- 
ing that  State,  and  before  doing  so  manumitted  their  slaves. 
It  may  be  easily  supposed  that  the  strong  appreciation  of 
liberty  and  the  rights  of  man  possessed  by  JOHN  F.  MILLER 


Address  of  Mr.  Stanford,  of  California.  21 

came  to  him  as  a  natural  heritage  from  a  father  and  grand- 
father whose  sense  of  justice  and  liberty  was  so  great  as1  to 
impel  them  to  make  a  voluntary  sacrifice  at  a  time  when 
slavery  was  by  many  held  to  be  lawful  and  right. 

Having  started  out  from  Virginia,  the  first  halting  place 
of  the  Miller  family  was  at  a  point  in  Kentucky  on  the  Ohio 
River,  near  Maysville,  where,  after  a  short  stay,  they  built 
flatboats  upon  which  they  floated  down  the  Ohio  to  the 
present  site  of  Cincinnati.  Subsequently  the  family  home 
was  chosen  in  Union  County,  Indiana,  near  Indian  Creek, 
in  the  great  Miami  Valley. 

By  a  coincidence,  the  maternal  branch  of  JOHN  F.  MIL- 
LER'S family  was  of  the  same  name  as  the  paternal.  His 
mother's  father,  John  Miller,  was  a  colonel  commanding 
volunteer  forces  in  Indiana  and  Ohio  during  the  war  of  1812, 
and  won  an  extensive  reputation  for  his  successful  warfare 
against  the  British  and  their  Indian  allies.  His  father  was 
a  man  of  great  force  of  character,  a  natural  leader,  and  ex- 
ercised a  wide  and  powerful  influence  in  the  State  of  his 
adoption.  Here,  in  Union  County,  Indiana,  a  few  miles  from 
Cincinnati,  JOHN  F.  MILLER  was  born.  A  short  time  after  his 
birth  the  family  removed  to  South  Bend,  where  his  early  days 
were  passed.  He  received  an  academical  education  at  South 
Bend,  and  at  Chicago  was  fitted  for  college;  but  prefer- 
ring to  embark  as  soon  as  possible  upon  his  life  career,  he 
chose  to  enter  at  once  upon  the  study  of  the  law,  in  which 
he  graduated  at  the  New  York  State  Law  School  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one.  He  began  the  practice  of  the  law  at  South 
Bend  in  the  same  year,  achieving  early  success.  In  the  year 
1853  he  first  came  to  California,  and,  locating  at  Napa,  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  his  profession  with  marked  success. 
In  the  winter  of  1855-'56  he  was  summoned  back  to  Indiana 
by  the  news  that  his  mother  was  dangerously  ill.  Happily 
this  was  a  mistake,  and  Mrs.  Miller  lived  to  see  her  son 


22  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

prosperous,  happy,  and  highly  honored.  She  passed  away 
last  fall  at  the  mature  age  of  seventy-four. 

Mr.  MILLER,  however,  remained  in  Indiana,  re-engaging 
in  the  practice  of  law,  and  1861  found  him  a  member  of  the 
senate  of  that  State.  In  1857  he  had  married  Miss  Mary 
Chess,  of  Pennsylvania.  Of  their  marriage  two  children 
were  born;  the  daughter  survives  her  brother,  who  nassed 
away  in  San  Francisco  in  1878  at  the  age  of  seven  years. 

Mr.  MILLER  was  one  of  the  first  to  respond  in  behalf  of 
the  Union  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion.  Governor 
Morton,  the  great  war  governor  of  Indiana,  appointed  him 
colonel  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Indiana  Infantry,  and  he  re- 
signed his  seat  in  the  legislature  of  the  State.  Few  men 
are  better  fitted  for  a  soldier's  career  than  was  JOHN  F.  MIL- 
LER. He  had  a  cool  head,  great  personal  bravery,  and  in- 
domitable energy,  as  well  as  the  other  traits  that  go  to  make 
up  a  successful  soldier.  As  the  conflict  progressed,  deserved 
promotion  for  "conspicuous  bravery"  was  given  him,  and 
the  close  of  the  war  found  him  brigadier  and  brevet  major 
general.  On  his  return  to  Indiana,  Governor  Morton  pre- 
sented him  a  sword  which  he  had  promised  the  soldier  of 
the  State  who  distinguished  himself  the  most  and  reflected 
the  greatest  credit  on  his  State  and  country.  The  details  of 
his  honorable  military  career  may  well  be  left  to  his  comrades 
in  arms,  several  of  whom  are  members  of  this  body. 

When  the  sound  of  the  conflict  had  passed  away,  General 
MILLER  was  offered  a  commission  as  colonel  in  the  regiilar 
Army,  but  he  declined  it.  He  was  a  soldier  only  because 
there  was  a  war,  and  preferred  to  return  to  the  more  active 
and  to  him  more  desirable  competition  of  professional  and 
political  life.  He  returned  a  second  time  to  California,  and 
President  Johnson  offered  him  the  position  of  collector  of 
the  port  of  San  Francisco.  He  accepted,  and  performed  the 
duties  of  that  important  office  for  four  years  with  great 


Address  of  Mr.  Stanford,  of  California.  23 

credit.  He  surrendered  the  office  at  the  end  of  his  term,  de- 
clining a  reappointment.  After  that  he  took  an  active  in- 
terest in  the  management  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Com- 
pany ;  was  a  candidate  for  presidential  elector  in  1872,  1876, 
and  1880,  and  his  election  to  the  United  States  Senate  fol- 
lowed in  1881.  He  took  his  seat  in  this  body  March  4  of  that 
year.  The  responsible  duties  of  this  position  he  discharged 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  satisfy  his  constituents  and  secure  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  his  brother  Senators. 

At  noon  on  Saturday,  March  13,  there  were  held  in  this 
Chamber  impressive  funeral  ceremonies  in  his  honor,  in 
the  presence  of  the  President,  the  members  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  foreign 
countries,  members  of  the  Loyal  League  and  other  organiza- 
tions. Every  available  place  in  both  Chamber  and  galleries 
was  filled.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremonies  the  remains 
were  escorted  by  members  of  this  body,  accompanied  by  a 
committee  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  to  the  depot, 
whence  later  in  the  evening  the  committee  appointed  by  this 
body  and  the  House  of  Representatives  accompanied  them 
to  San  Francisco,  where,  on  March  21,  funeral  ceremonies 
again  took  place  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  concourse 
of  his  sorrowing  fellow-citizens. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  funeral  there,  Rev.  Dr.  Beers,  of 
the  Episcopal  church,  said  of  the  deceased  :  "This  is  one 
of  those  rare  occasions  when  truth  is  eulogy  and  the  lan- 
guage of  panegyric  does  not  outmeasure  the  just  meed  of 
appreciation  due  to  high  personal  character,  large  and  well- 
applied  endowments,  and  great  public  service.  This  is  proved 
in  the  present  case  by  the  widespread  shock  caused  by  the 
death  of  Senator  MILLER  and  the  universal  sorrow  experi- 
enced at  a  loss  not  soon  nor  easily  repaired.  If  human  sym- 


24  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

pathy  can  ever  avail  to  alleviate  the  pangs  of  irreparable 
bereavement,  these  mourning  ones  may  remember  that  they 
are  encircled  with  the  heartfelt  and  loving  sympathy  of  a 
whole  people,  and  that  the  tears  of  a  community,  a  State, 
and  a  nation  mingle  with  those  they  shed.  Though  called 
away  in  the  meridian  of  life,  our  friend  lived  long  enough 
to  outstep  the  bounds  of  local  and  State  recognition,  and  to 
become  a  conspicuous  figure  on  the  stage  of  national  activi- 
ties. *  *  *  His  achievements  as  a  soldier  preceded  his 
career  in  civil  life.  His  coolness,  judgment,  and  daring  in 
battle  brought  him  warm  commendation  from  his  comrades 
and  superiors. 

"But  Senator  MILLER  manifested  in  various  ways,  official 
and  personal,  his  fidelity  and  consistency  in  another  sphere 
of  life  and  duty.  He  'adorned  the  doctrine  of  God  our 
Saviour  in  all  things,'  and  was  a  good  soldier  of  Christ,  and 
when  words  were  no  more  possible  signified  by  gesture  that 
his  faith  did  not  fail  or  falter.  And  so,  full  of  honors,  but 
not  of  years,  with  all  earthly  ministries  that  could  make  life 
desirable — a  home  the  abode  of  peace  and  love,  and  troops 
of  friends,  great  gifts,  abundance  of  wealth,  and  wide  in- 
fluence— our  friend  has  passed  away,  leaving  those  who 
survive  the  priceless  heritage  of  an  example  as  perfect  and 
pure  as  is  possible  to  the  frailty  of  man.  Senator  MILLER 
died  a  martyr  to  duty.  What  the  bullets  of  Stone  River 
and  Liberty  Gap  failed  to  do,  unmeasured  application  to  the 
most  difficult  and  delicate  work  assigned  him  accomplished. 
And  so  the  stateliness  of  earth — soldier,  Senator,  citizen, 
Christian — a  modern  Bayard,  passed  away  without  fear  and 
without  reproach.  '  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the 
Lord,  for  they  rest  from  their  labors  and  their  works  do 
follow  them.'"  . 

These  sentiments,  so  beautifully  expressed,  find  a  cordial 
indorsement  from  all  who  knew  him  as  a  private  citizen,  a 


Address  of  Mr.  Edmunds,  of  Vermont.  25 

legislator  in  Indiana,  a  soldier  of  the  nation,  and  a  Senator 
from  California. 

General  MILLER'S  life  was  a  success.  The  work  he  under- 
took he  did  well,  whether  in  camp,  in  commerce,  or  in  Con- 
gress. He  gained  commendation  on  every  side  and  in  every 
path  of  duty  in  which  he  walked.  His  persuasive  eloquence, 
earnest,  able,  and  logical  reasoning,  was  recognized  in  this 
Chamber.  He  took  an  active  interest  in  everything  that 
looked  to  the  welfare  of  his  State,  his  party,  and  his  country. 
He  was  a  progressive  man  and  a  warm  friend.  In  politics 
he  was  a  Republican  and  a  partisan,  and  never  sought  to 
conceal  it. 

He  believed  that  "he  who  serves  his  country  best  serves 
his  party  best."  He  is  gone.  Impartial  history  will  delight 
to  place  his  name,  as  a  private  and  public  citizen,  high 
among  those  who  are  worthy  examples  for  their  country  men 
to  admire  and  imitate. 


Address  of  Mr.  EDMUNDS,  of  Vermont. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  I  must  beg  permission  to  pay  my  heart- 
felt tribute  to  the  memory  of  our  late  associate  and  our 
always  friend. 

I  did  not  have  the  pleasure  of  knowing  him  during  his  most 
honorable  and  conspicuous  career  in  the  Army  of  the  United 
States  in  the  darkest  hour  of  its  destiny,  but  all  that  history 
tells  of  it,  all  that  his  surviving  comrades  tell  of  it,  all  that 
his  then  foes  but  now  friends  tell  of  it,  unite  in  showing  how 
brave  and  wise  and  prudent  a  soldier  he  was.  I  have  to  say 
rather  what  I  have  known  of  him  here  in  this  Chamber,  and 
what  I  have  known  of  him  as  a  friend  and  neighbor  in  our 
associations  during  our  stay  in  this  city. 


26  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Millar. 

It  was  my  pleasure  and  privilege  to  be  for  a  long  time  his 
associate  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Rela- 
tions, of  which  he  was  the  chairman — a  committee  as  you 
know,  Mr.  President,  and  as  all  the  Senators  know,  that 
often  has  to  do  with  questions  not  only  of  great  practical 
importance  but  of  extreme  delicacy.  Senator  MILLER 
brought  to  that  duty,  coming  as  he  did  from  the  field  of 
business,  of  politics,  and  of  war,  and  not  from  a  career  of 
previous  diplomatic  experience  or  instruction,  a  tact,  and  a 
quality  of  suiting  things  to  each  other,  and  of  harmonizing 
difficulties  so  far  as  consistent  with  truth  and  justice  and 
national  honor  which  would  have  done  credit  to  any  man 
who  had  spent  his  whole  life  in  the  training  of  diplomatic 
and  international  intercourse. 

Never  excited,  never  astray,  patient,  persistent  in  that  as 
he  was  in  his  previous  career  in  the  Army,  he  contributed 
as  much  certainly,  if  not  more  than  any  other  member  of 
that  committee  or  any  other  member  of  the  Senate,  to  the 
satisfactory  progress  and  adjustment  of  the  affairs  that 
were  intrusted  to  that  committee,  which,  as  you  know,  is  so 
often  and  so  necessarily  in  conference  with  the  Executive 
and  his  Secretary  of  State  respecting  a  great  many  affairs 
that  are  never  even  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  whole 
body  of  the  Senate.  . 

So  I  can  say  of  him  with  a  truth  and  an  eulogy  that  is  not 
exaggerated,  that  in  that  most  delicate  and  conspicuous 
and  responsible  position  he  was  a  man  equal  to  the  respon- 
sibilities of  the  place. 

His  career  here  we  all  know,  in  the  public  legislation  and 
operations  of  this  body — never  a  frequent  speaker,  never  a 
long  speaker  when  he  had  occasion  to  address  the  Senate, 
but  always  the  man  of  thought,  the  man  of  attention,  the 
man  of  industry,  the  man  of  practical  sagacity^  who  brought 


Address  of  Mr.  Edmunds,  of  Vermont.  27 

to  the  solution  of  every  question,  whether  legislative  or  ex- 
ecutive, the  patient  and  persistent  energy  and  intelligence 
that  should  produce  for  his  country  and  for  his  State  the 
best  results. 

I  think  such  an  American  citizen  is  a'  model  for  us  all,  is 
an  inspiration  to  all  who  are  to  follow  us  here,  or  who  are 
to  perform  the  equally  important  duties  of  American  citi- 
zens in  their  respective  spheres. 

But.  Mr.  President,  outside  of  this  Chamber  and  in  the  in- 
tercourse of  social  and  friendly  life — that  intercourse  which 
gives  nearly  all  the  sweetness  and  happiness  and  hope  that 
there  is  in  the  somewhat  weary  ways  we  travel — I  think  Mr. 
MILLER  was  peculiar  in  the  circumstance  that  with  this 
positiveness  of  character,  this  persistence  of  energy,  this 
solidity  of  opinion,  which  did  not  yield  except  for  good  rea- 
son, the  social  and  the  private  side  of  his  character  was  as 
sweet  and  gentle  as  that  of  a  woman.  I  knew  him  well, 
and  with  a  sincere  sensibility  I  pay  this  tribute  to  that  part 
of  his  life  that  was  not  seen  in  this  Chamber. 

I  saw  him  often  during  the  distressing  hours  of  his  last 
days.  In  all  the  pain  and  misery  that  his  mortal  disease 
gave  to  him  there  was  the  same  steadfast  calmness  of  per- 
sistent patience  that  had  exhibited  itself  on  the  active 
side  of  his  life.  With  no  murmuring,  no  grief,  no  sorrow 
except  that  natural  one  of  leaving  behind  him  those  he 
loved,  he  faced  the  door  that  opens  to  that  mysterious  land 
we  all  hope  to  see,  and  greeted  with,  a  happy  hope,  I  am 
sure,  when  the  door  at  last  opened,  that  spacious  sunshine 
far  from  pain  to  which  he  felt  and  knew  he  was  so  soon 
to  go. 

I  lay  upon  his  grave  the  tribute  of  my  most  affectionate 
remembrance. 


28  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 


Address  of  Mr.  VoORHEES,  of  Indiana. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  distinguished  soldier  and  civilian 
whose  death  we  mourn  and  whose  memory  we  cherish  won 
and  wore  in  his  lifetime,  and  in  full  and  abundant  measure, 
the  honors  of  two  great  States,  far  distant  from  each  other. 
Fifty-five  years  ago  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  White- 
water, in  Eastern  Indiana,  JOHN  F.  MILLER  was  born.  He 
grew  to  manhood's  bright  estate  and  equipped  himself  for 
his  brilliant  career  under  the  favorable  and  progressive 
influences  of  his  native  State.  He  first  appeared  in  connec- 
tion with  public  affairs  as  a  member  of  the  Indiana  State 
senate  from  Saint  Joseph  County  in  1860.  He  was  then 
twenty-nine  years  of  age,  handsome  in  face  and  person,  and 
attractive  in  manner.  Those  who  saw  him  then  could  best 
appreciate  when  they  met  him  in  after  years  the  changes 
wrought  by  wounds,  suffering,  and  time.  He  remained  but 
a  short  time  in  the  civil  service  of  Indiana.  The  ill-omened 
roar  of  artillery  at  Sumter  in  April,  1861,  startled  men  from 
the  repose  of  peace  and  inflamed  their  blood  for  battle  as  no 
other  opening  act  of  war  ever  did  in  the  history  of  nations. 

The  people  of  the  North  and  of  the  South  instinctively 
knew  the  desperate  and  fatal  meaning  of  those  dread  echoes, 
and  they  simultaneously  sprang  to  arms  for  that  irrepres- 
sible conflict  which  in  the  high  councils  of  Almighty  God 
was  decreed  to  be  settled  by  the  sword.  In  that  first  rush  to 
the  field  General  MILLER  was  among  the  foremost.  He  re- 
signed his  seat  as  a  member  of  the  senate  in  the  Indiana  leg- 
islature and  took  command  as  colonel  of  the  Twenty-ninth 
Regiment  of  Indiana  Volunteers.  From  that  day  until  the 
war  closed  he  appeared  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum- 
stances as  the  highest  and  best  type  of  an  American  soldier 


Address  of  Mr.  Voorhees,  of  Indiana.  29 

Two  hundred  thousand  of  the  youth  and  flower  of  Indiana 
took  their  part  in  the  harvest  of  death  from  the  Potomac  to 
the  Gulf  and  to  the  ensanguined  plains  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi. Their  record  is  brilliant  and  conspicuous  for  courage 
and  endurance  wherever  the  flag  was  planted. 

But  in  all  the  bright  array  of  Indiana  soldiers  no  name  has 
a  prouder  place  or  does  more  honor  to  the  history  of  his 
native  State  than  that  of  JOHN  F.  MILLER.  I  need  not  de- 
tail his  military  services.  They  are  preserved  in  the  annals 
of  his  country  and  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  his  country- 
men. He  was  brevetted  a  major-general  for  conspicuous 
courage  in  battle,  and  merited  and  should  have  received  a 
major-general's  commission  and  full  rank.  The  future  im- 
partial historian  will  notice  and  record  the  fact  that  the 
military  officers  of  Indiana  during  the  great  conflict  between 
the  sections  did  not,  as  a  rule,  receive  such  promotion  and 
advancement  to  high  rank  and  command  as  their  abilities 
and  services  demanded.  With  material  in  the  field  equal  to 
any  from  Ohio,  Illinois,  or  any  other  State,  yet  the  just 
claims  of  hard-fighting  colonels  and  brigadiers  from  Indiana 
were  but  sparingly  recognized  by  promotion.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  time  nor  the  occasion  to  assign  the  reason  for 
the  fact  I  have  stated. 

With  the  return  of  peace  General  MILLER  sought  the  Pa- 
cific coast  and  made  his  home  in  that  wonderful  State  whose 
discovery,  development,  and  wealth  have  flashed  upon  the 
world  more  like  a  bewildering  romance  than  a  stupendous 
reality  in  human  history.  In  the  midst  of  the  strong  and 
pushing  people  of  that  remarkable.  Commonwealth  where 
"the  survival  of  the  fittest"  is  a  practical  daily  law  and  not 
a  mere  speculative  theory,  General  MILLER  went  to  the  front 
and  there  maintained  himself.  Indiana  may  be  pardoned 
for  her  interest  and  pride  in  her  sons  in  distant  States.  It 


30  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

is  a  somewhat  singular  circumstance  that  when  he  entered 
this  body  he  succeeded  the  accomplished  and  eloquent  Booth, 
also  a  native  of  Indiana. 

As  a  Senator  moving  here  in  the  midst  of  his  associates, 
General  MILLER  was  admired,  respected,  and  beloved.  His 
abilities  were  of  a  high  order,  and  he  brought  to  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duties  the  habits  and  methods  of  a  trained  and 
cultivated  mind.  His  demeanor  was  full  of  quiet,  dignified 
courtesy  toward  all.  He  was  always  a  gentleman.  General 
MILLER  had  been  for  many  years  an  intense  sufferer,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  his  life  was  shortened  by  the  shock 
and  severity  of  his  wounds.  In  the  ordinary  course  of  nature, 
and  by  reason  of  a  strong  physical  constitution,  death  should 
long  have  spared  him  to  his  family,  his  friends,  and  his 
country.  But  though  prematurely  called  he  met  the  great 
inevitable  change  with  the  firmness  and  the  faith  of  a  soldier 
and  a  Christian.  Sir,  how  thick  and  fast  come  the  warnings 
to  us  all  that  this  earth  is  not  our  abiding  home ;  that  our 
lives  are  as  fleeting  shadows — a  moment  here  on  the  shore- 
less, illimitable  ocean  of  time,  then  gone  forever !  On  every 
hand,  and  keeping  time  with  the  days  and  almost  with  the 
hours,  our  friends  and  comrades  depart,  recede  from  our 
longing  embrace,  and  disappear  from  our  tearful  gaze.  How 
empty  and  vain  appear  all  the  honors  of  this  world  at  such 
a  time,  and  how  pitiful  the  conflicts  and  asperities  of  human 
ambition  ! 

Sir,  it  seems  but  yesterday  when  General  MILLER  walked 
and  thought  and  toiled  in  our  midst,  but  we  shall  see  him 
no  more  amongst  living  men.  On  the  far-off  Pacific  coast 
all  of  him  that  was  mortal  will  repose  forever.  Indiana 
joins  California  as  a  mourner  for  the  honored  dead,  and  lays 
an  evergreen  garland  of  gratitude  for  his  services,  and 
affection  for  his  memory  on  his  grave. 


Address  of  Mr.  Logan,  of  Illinois.  31 


Address  of  Mr.  LOGAN,  of  Illinois. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  In  the  death  of  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  of 
California,  a  loss  to  the  country  has  been  sustained  the  full 
extent  of  which  can  now  only  be  realized  by  those  whose 
good  fortune  it  was  to  know  him  intimately.  He  had  arrived 
at  that  position  in  life  when,  having  conquered  the  difficul- 
ties Avhich  confront  youth  at  the  beginning  of  its  career,  he 
was  ready  to  enter  upon  a  field  of  broad  usefulness,  in  which 
he  would  have  earned  a  brilliant  and  lasting  place  in  the 
national  annals  of  his  period.  But  he  was  fated  to  be  like  a 
gallant  general  who,  after  having  carried  the  ramparts  of  an 
enemy's  works,  is  stricken  down  upon  the  very  threshold  of 
well-earned  victory.  In  this  Chamber,  where  he  was  known 
and  honored,  the  sentiment  that  his  death  was  untimely  is 
general  and  deeply  rooted. 

The  parents  of  the  late  Senator  MILLER  were,  originally, 
citizens  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  whence  they  emigrated  to 
Indiana  at  a  time  when  the  latter  was  considered  fairly  en- 
titled to  be  designated  as  the  Far  West.  In  this  new  State, 
which,  in  reference  to  its  then  recent  admission  to  the  Union, 
may  be  said  to  have  been  still  in  its  teens,  JOHN  F.  MILLER 
was  born,  in  the  year  1831.  His  youth  was  passed  f.mid 
those  frontier  scenes  which  have  developed  some  of  the 
strongest  characters  of  American  history.  At  an  early  age 
he  evinced  an  unequivocal  aptitude  for  books ;  and  his 
parents,  resolving  to  give  him  all  of  the  limited  advantages 
of  an  education  then  accessible  to  the  Western  boy,  sent 
him  to  an  academy  in  South  Bend,  where  he  obtained  such 
preliminary  education  as  it  was  possible  to  furnish.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  began  the  study  of  law,  and  in  the  year 
1852  graduated  with  much  credit  from  the  New  York  State 


32  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

Law  School,  to  which  he  had  gone  to  avail  himself  of  its 
course.  Returning  to  his  home  in  Indiana  he  began  the 
practice  of  law,  but  soon  being  seized  with  the  California 
fever,  then  fully  developed,  he  joined  the  immense  concourse 
of  people  who  were  flocking  to  the  new  El  Dorado. 

Pursuing  the  practice  of  law  for  a  few  years  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  he  returned  again  to  the  home  of  his  youth,  resolving 
to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  among  the  friends  who 
loved  him  so  well.  In  the  year  1860  he  was  elected  to  mem- 
bership in  the  Indiana  State  senate,  but  upon  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  rebellion,  being  then  only  thirty  years  of  age,  he 
entered  the  Union  Army,  and  was  at  once  made  colonel  of 
the  Twenty-ninth  Regiment  of  Indiana  Volunteers.  Evinc- 
ing military  ability  of  a  high  grade,  he  was  soon  placed  in 
command  of  a  brigade,  and  served  at  different  periods  under 
Generals  Sherman,  Rosecrans,  and  Thomas. 

At  the  battle  of  Stone  River  General  MILLER  exhibited 
this  ability  in  a  very  conspicuous  manner.  Two  days  be- 
fore this  engagement  he  had  been  painfully  wounded  and 
was  still  suffering  acutely  from  the  effects  of  the  wound. 
Having  been  ordered  to  the  support  of  General  Crittenden's 
corps,  at  Stone  River,  he  took  position  with  his  brigade  upon 
the  left  of  the  railroad  in  an  open  field,  and  near  the  bank 
of  the  stream.  About  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  furious 
attack  was  made  by  the  enemy  upon  General  Beatty's  or 
VanCleve's  division,  which  was  then  across  the  river.  The 
latter  was  compelled  to  retreat  to  the  other  side  again 
through  General  MILLER'S  lines.  The  enemy  had  followed 
the  retiring  Unionist  and  were  now  upon  the  opposite  bank, 
directly  facing  General  MILLER'S  brigade. 

A  spirited  action  at  once,  took  place  between  the  two  bod- 
ies of  troops  across  the  stream.  Under  the  dreadful  fire  of 
General  MILLER'S  force  the  enemy  began  to  waver  and  then 


Address  of  Mr.  Logan,  of  Illinois.  33 

to  fall  back.  General  MILLER  perceiving  his  advantage, 
determined  to  follow  it,  and  gave  orders  for  an  immediate 
advance.  At  this  moment  an  order  came  to  him  from  a  gen- 
eral officer,  not  his  immediate  commander,  to  desist  from 
the  attempt  to  cross  the  river.  "With  the  self-reliance  mark- 
ing independent  natures,  General  MILLER  dashed  across  the 
river  with  his  troops,  the  enemy  flying  before  him  in  order 
to  gain  the  cover  of  the  batteries  in  his  rear.  On  went  the 
Unionists  under  the  lead  of  the  gallant  MILLER.  Nothing 
pould  withstand  their  intrepidity.  A  charge  was  made  upon 
a  battery  of  four  guns,  with  the  fire  of  the  pieces  fairly  blaz- 
ing in  the  faces  of  the  attacking  party.  A  hand-to-hand 
conflict  took  place ;  the  battery  was  captured,  and  with  it 
the  colors  of  the  regiment  serving  it. 

The  movement  of  General  MILLER  was  perilous  in  the  ex- 
treme ;  but  the  importance  of  the  result  obtained  fully  justi- 
fied the  daring  attempt.  The  check  received  by  the  enemy 
through  General  MILLER'S  audacious  bravery  undoubtedly 
contributed  as  much  if  not  more  than  any  other  thing  in 
turning  the  tide  in  favor  of  our  troops  at  this  battle  and  pre- 
vented the  enemy  from  occupying  the  heights  overlooking 
Stone  River. 

He  was  severely  wounded  at  Liberty  Gap,  and  after* 
ward  commanded  a  large  force  at  the  battle  of  Nashville, 
where  he  gained  great  distinction. 

These  incidents  are  selected  from  the  military  career  of 
General  MILLER  in  order  to  illustrate  the  strong  character 
and  ardent  patriotism  of  the  man  whose  loss  we  have  so 
recently  been  called  upon  to  mourn. 

With  no  previous  military  education  he  entered  the  Union 
Army  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  simply  through  force 
of  his  marked  personal  characteristics,  backed  by  the  fitness 
for  arms  which  the  life  of  a  free-born  American  citizen  is  so 

9318  MIL 3 


34  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

well  calculated  to  create,  lie  left  the  Army  at  the  termina- 
tion of  the  conflict  with  the  rank  of  a  brevet  major-general. 

The  military  career  of  the  lamented  MILLER  furnishes 
another  interesting  example  of  the  resources  of  the  United 
States  when  forced  to  the  dread  alternative  of  war.  For- 
tunately, the  country  has  not  often  been  called  to  accept 
this  alternative  during  the  course  of  its  peaceful  history; 
but  old  England,  the  most  warlike  of  nations,  and  old  Mex- 
ico, the  most  powerful  of  the  Hispano- American  republics, 
have  alike  had  cause  to  marvel  at  the  military  strength  of 
our  country,  almost  without  an  army  or  a  military  establish- 
ment, and  traditionally  devoted  to  a  career  of  peace. 

The  concealed  military  power  of  the  United  States,  if  I 
may  so  express  it,  has  been  remarkable,  and  an  unpleasant 
development  to  all  of  the  nations  of  the  world,  whose  sov- 
ereigns have  been  accustomed  for  so  long  a  period  to  regard 
a  standing  army  as  the  only  true  measure  of  the  power  of 
the  people.  Such  a  spectacle  as  the  American  volunteer 
soldier  has  never  been  seen  in  the  history  of  governments. 

Behold  a  man,  quietly  following  his  peaceful  avocation, 
surrounded  by  family  and  friends,  and  with  no  thoughts 
save  those  connected  with  the  routine  of  an  unostentatious 
life  and  the  faithful  fulfillment  of  the  obligations  of  citizen- 
ship. Sixty  million  people  every  day,  in  this  broad  and 
happy  land,  to  the  call  of  such  peaceful  duties  and  the  round 
of  such  an  eventful  life.  Not  a  banner,  nor  a  military  trap- 
ping, nor  the  beat  of  a  drum  can  be  seen  or  heard  to  break 
the  even  tenor  of  industrial  and  domestic  pursuit.  But  hark ! 
The  shrill  note  of  the  bugle  has  broken  the  stillness  of  the 
air.  Look  again,  and  behold  a  marvelous  transformation ! 
The  quiet  man.  who  mayhap  was  clad  in  homespun  vest- 
ments and  engaged  in  following  the  sloAV  course  of  a  plow 
over  a  forbidding  field,  has  vanished ;  and  there  now  stands 


Address  of  Mr.  Logan,  of  Illinois.  35 

in  his  place  a  grim  soldier,  attired  in  the  uniform  of  his  reg- 
iment and  examining  the  deadly  qualities  of  his  rifle.  The 
air  is  filled  with  martial  music,  and  the  roads  and  streets 
resound  to  the  tramp  of  the  American  volunteers  as  they  go 
forth  to  certain  triumph.  The  ringing  of  the  steel ;  the  even 
tread  of  moving  regiments ;  the  clatter  of  horses'  feet ;  the 
rolling  of  artillery  wheels ;  the  swelling  strains  of  the  bands ; 
the  waving  banners  ;  the  shouting  of  the  masses — all  indi- 
cate the  irresistible  moving  of  an  army  that  has  sprung  into 
martial  completeness  with  the  suddenness  of  the  birth  of 
Minerva  from  the  brain  of  Jove. 

This  is  no  strained  figure  of  a  patriotic  imagination.  An 
actual  fact  is  represented,  which  has  demonstrated  upon 
more  than  one  occasion  the  utter  disparity  between  a  merely 
hired  soldiery  and  an  army  of  freemen,  moving  with  all  the 
elements  of  successful  war  to  the  defense  of  their  principles, 
their  homes,  and  their  cherished  institutions. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  foreign  power  can  subdue  a  nation 
thus  defended ;  and  so  long  as  the  free  spirit  of  American 
institutions  is  preserved  untainted  and  untrammeled,  so 
long  as  the  people  continue  to  feel  that  they  are  the  sover- 
eigns and  the  directors  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  so  long  will  that  Government  continue  invincible  to 
the  attacks  of  enemies,  whether  they  be  foreign  or  domestic. 

At  the  termination  of  the  late  war  General  MILLER  found 
himself  still  suffering  from  the  effects  of  wounds  received 
during  the  course  of  his  honorable  service.  One  of  these 
was  of  such  a  nature  as  to  induce  the  diseased  action  which 
ultimately  put  a  premature  end  to  his  useful  life. 

In  the  year  1866  General  MILLER  was  appointed  collector 
for  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  and  this  appointment  led  to 
his  permanent  removal  to  the  Pacific  coast.  Of  energetic 
character,  he  believed  that  his  field  of  activity  would  be 


36  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

enlarged  in  a  section  of  country  still  needing  strong  arms, 
broad  minds,  and  courageous  hearts  for  its  permanent  de- 
velopment. From  the  date  of  his  arrival  General  MILLER 
became  a  prominent  man  upon  our  Western  coast,  both  in 
its  industrial  and  political  progress.  His  official  adminis- 
tration won  for  him  the  good- will  of  all  parties  and  classes, 
guided  as  he  ever  was  by  the  strict  principles  of  honor  and 
justice. 

His  efforts,  however,  were  not  limited  to  the  mere  per- 
functory discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  Federal  office.  At 
all  times  and  at  all  seasons  he  was  ready  to  aid  with  his 
influence  and  his  means  every  feasible  plan  for  the  unfolding 
of  the  industrial  and  social  interests  of  the  Pacific  Slope. 
Firmly  believing  with  the  quaint  writer,  Swift,  that  ''who- 
ever could  make  two  ears  of  corn  or  two  blades  of  grass  to 
grow  upon  a  spot  of  ground  where  only  one  grew  before 
would  deserve  better  of  mankind  and  do  more  essential  serv- 
ice to  his  country  than  the  whole  race  of  politicians  put 
together,"  he  sought  to  call  into  development  previously 
unknown  elements  of  wealth ;  and  when  finally  freed  from 
the  cares  and  restraints  of  office  he  became  the  leading  spirit 
of  a  business  enterprise  that  has  largely  added  to  the  wealth 
and  commercial  interests  of  our  whole  country. 

But  a  man  of  such  activity  and  of  such  large  capability 
could  not  remain  unsought  to  aid  in  the  political  interests  of 
his  party.  In  1872,  in  1876,  and  in  1880  he  occupied  a  place 
upon  the  California  Republican  electoral,  ticket.  In  1879  he 
was  elected  by  a  handsome  vote  to  be  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention to  form  a  State  constitution.  In  1881  he  was  selected 
by  the  California  legislature  to  represent  that  State  in  this 
body,  and  his  service  in  the  capacity  of  Senator  dates  from 
the  4th  of  March  of  that  year,  when  he  took  the  oath  of  office. 
From  that  time  to  the  date  of  his  death  his  colleagues  here 


Address  of  Mr.  Logan,  of  Illinois.  37 

became  familiar  with  the  man  whose  career,  though  previ- 
ously bristling  with  usefulness,  was  now  about  to  yield  its 
fullest  fruition.  An  active  worker,  a  far-seeing  counselor, 
a  genial  friend,  a  magnanimous  opponent — one  and  all 
came  to  respect  and  love  him  for  his  strong  mind,  his  manly 
worth,  and  his  gentle  qualities  of  heart. 

During  the  five  years  that  he  held  membership  in  this 
body  Senator  MILLER  was  a  silent  sufferer  from  the  wound 
he  had  received  in  the  defense  of  his  country ;  and  it  was 
this  suffering  alone  that  prevented  him  from  filling  the 
sphere  of  activity  offered  by  his  national  character  as  fully 
as  he  certainly  otherwise  would  have  done. 

The  progress  of  his  malady  at  length  began  to  demon- 
strate that  the  career  of  our  colleague  was  doomed  to  suffer 
untimely  abridgment,  like — 

The  bud  bit  with  an  envious  worm, 

Ere  he  can  spread  his  sweet  leaves  to  the  air, 

Or  dedicate  his  beauty  to  the  sun. 

Suddenly,  upon  an  inhospitable  day,  when  the  very  ele- 
ments seemed  hung  with  weeds  of  sorrow,  the  frost  came 
and  with  ruthless  touch  withered  a  life  that  held  within  its 
clasp  probabilities  extending  far  beyond  the  limits  of  any 
ordinary  career. 

Senator  MILLER  was  a  true  type  of  the  American  free- 
man, of  manly  form,  strong  of  mind,  with  quick  perception 
and  rapidity  of  decision;  with  iron  courage,  and  a  gentle 
nature,  that  melted  enmity  into  friendship  and  opposition 
into  compliance,  he  was  a  marked  man  among  his  fellows. 
He  was  at  home  among  the  humble,  and  always  a  peer  of 
the  best. 

His  life  was  full  of  promise,  and  his  sudden  death  was 
rounded  by  melancholy  disappointment.  The  life  was  in- 
structive, and  the  death  suggestive  to  his  friends. 


38  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

We  are  here  to-day  to  render  a  tribute  of  appreciation  and 
of  sorrow  in  presence  of  a  calamity  which  extends  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  family  threshold  and  invades  the  circle  of 
the  national  interest.  We  are  here  to  drop  the  tear  of  sym- 
pathy, and  to  pronounce  the  encomium,  "Well  done,  thou 
good  and  faithful  servant."  In  bewailing  our  colleague's 
loss  we  cannot  be  unmindful  of  the  circumstance  that  death 
is  the  common  lot  of  all.  To  play  our  parts  well  upon  life's 
great  stage  is  worthy  of.  the  loftiest  ambition.  But  the  time 
comes  when,  standing  in  presence  of  such  a  catastrophe  as 
we  are  now  contemplating,  we  are  profoundly  impressed  by 
the  reminder  of  the  immortal  dramatist : 

Our  revels  now  are  ended.     These  our  actors, 
As  I  foretold  you,  were  all  spirits,  and 
Are  melted  into  air,  into  thin  air; 
And,  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  this  vision, 
The  cloud-capped  towers,  the  gorgeous  palaces, 
The  solemn  temples,  the  great  globe  itself, 
Yea,  all  which  it  inherit,  shall  dissolve, 
And,  like  this  insubstantial  pageant  faded, 
Leave  not  a  rack  behind.     We  are  such  stuff 
As  dreams  are  made  of,  and  our  little  life 
Is  rounded  with  a  sleep. 

Departed  colleague,  sleep  on ;  thou  hast  earned  thy  rest, 
and  thy  country  is  better  that  thou  hast  lived.  The  nation 
mourns  thee  and  thy  friends  bewail  thee ;  but  having  passed 
the  portals  of  the  mysterious  realm  they  would  not  call  thee 
back.  Thy  work  belongs  to  thy  country,  and  thy  rest  to 
thee.  To  thy  colleagues  is  left  the  remembrance  of  thy 
gentle  spirit ;  but  to  them  also  is  given  the  exquisite  pain  of 
pronouncing  the  most  terrible  of  all  words  : 

Farewell! 

For  in  that  word — that  fatal  word — howe'er 
We  promise,  hope,  believe — there  breathes  despair. 


Address  of  Mr.  Fair,  of  Nevada.  39 


Address  of  Mr.  FAIR,  of  Nevada. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  In  the  brief  time  that  I  shall  occupy  the 
attention  of  the  Senate  I  will  be  unable  to  give  a  fitting 
tribute  to  the  life  and  services  of  Senator  MILLER.  I  cannot, 
however,  allow  this  occasion  to  pass  without  giving  expres- 
sion to  the  feelings  of  respect  and  admiration  I  have  for  his 
memory. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  for  a  number  of  years  to  know 
Senator  MILLER  well,  and  we  became  warm  friends.  His 
death,  therefore,  to  me  was  not  simply  the  passing  away  of 
a  distinguished  citizen,  but  was  a  personal  bereavement. 

JOHN  F.  MILLER  has  passed  away  at  the  age  of  fifty-five 
years.  How  much  of  effort,  achievement,  yea,  of  suffering, 
have  been  crowded  into  that  short  period  of  time. 

Mr.  President,  the  career  of  this  man  may  well  be  pointed 
to  as  an  example  and  incentive  for  the  rising  generation  of 
the  Republic.  Few  men  of  our  time  have  filled  as  he  has, 
with  heaping  measure,  the  requirements  of  every  public  and 
private  station.  With  the  true  ambition  for  success  and 
fame,  he  early  fitted  himself  for  the  great  intellectual  strug- 
gle of  life. 

Entering  upon  the  practice  of  law  in  his  native  State  of 
Indiana,  he  soon  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  himself  in 
California,  whither  he  went  and  remained  for  a  period  of  three 
years.  He  then  decided  to  return  to  Indiana,  where  he  was 
soon  chosen  to  the  honorable  position  of  State  senator.  He 
occupied  this  position  at  the  time  that  the  opening  of  our 
great  civil  war  startled  the  country.  Resigning  his  duties 
as  a  legislator  he  entered  with  patriotic  enthusiasm  into  the 
great  struggle  for  the  Union  and  led  to  the  field  a  regiment 
of  infantry. 

I  will  not  descant  at  length  upon  his  military  career ;  but 


40  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

it  is  well  known  that  in  this  field  of  endeavor  he  displayed 
those  noble  traits  of  character — coolness,  courage,  and  re- 
sources— which  in  time  of  war  make  heroes  of  men. 

At  the  great  three  days'  battle  of  Stone  River  it  fell  to  his 
lot  to  occupy  the  key  of  the  position.  With  the  •  true  mili- 
tary instinct,  he  took  in  the  situation,  and  without  orders  he 
made  an  assault  which  opened  the  way  to  victory,  and  in 
this  terrible  struggle  he  received  the  wound  from  which  he 
suffered  so  much  and  which  no  doubt  finally  contributed  to 
his  death.  This,  however,  did  not  end  his  military  career. 
At  Nashville  he  was  intrusted  with  a  larger  command  and 
with  conspicuous  gallantry  aided  in  the  overthrow  of  Hood's 
army. 

Successful  in  war,  it  was  left  to  him  to  be  equally  success- 
ful in  peace.  Again  becoming  a  citizen  of  California,  he 
was  chosen  to  conspicuous  and  responsible  positions  under 
the  National  and  State  governments,  and  was  finally  chosen 
to  represent  that  great  State  in  this  Chamber.  Here  his 
ability  received  a  fitting  recognition  when  he  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  one  of  the  leading  committees  of  the  Senate. 

As  a  man  of  business  and  of  affairs  he  was  always  recog- 
nized as  possessing  large  ability.  In  the  private  walks  of 
life  and  in  the  social  circle  he  made  hosts  of  friends.  In 
fact  it  may  be  said  that  here  was  a  conspicuous  and  distin- 
guished man  without  an  enemy.  It  would  seem  that  the 
life  of  Senator  MILLER  was  a  series  of  unbroken  successes ; 
this  statement  necessarily  includes  the  idea  that  his  combi- 
nation of  good  qualities  entitled  him  to  succeed. 

He  was  a  man  of  fine  intellectual  endowments ;  he  pos- 
sessed an  admirably  balanced  mind,  and  a  heart  full  of  con- 
sideration for  his  fellow-man.  He  was  a  man  of  patriotism, 
of  honor,  and  honesty,  and  I  join  with  his  warmest  friends 
in  deploring  his  untimely  death. 


Address  of  Mr.  Harrison,  of  Indiana.  4.] 


Address  of  Mr.  HARRISON,  of  Indiana. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  There  seemed  to  be  an  appropriateness  in 
the  suggestion  made  to  me  some  days  ago  by  the  senior  Sen- 
ator from  California  that  the  representatives  of  the  State  of 
Indiana  in  this  Chamber  should  take  part  in  these  memorial 
exercises.  JOHN  F.  MILLER  was  born  in  Union  County,  In- 
diana; received  his  education  and  spent  his  early  manhood 
in  that  State.  It  was  there  that  he  entered  public  life  as  a 
senator  from  the  county  of  Saint  Joseph,  and  from  that 
State,  bearing  the  commission  of  its  great  war  governor,  he 
went  into  the  Army  of  the  Union  in  August,  1861,  as  colonel 
of  the  Twenty-ninth  Regiment  of  Indiana  Volunteer  Infan- 
try. He  did  much  to  make  the  name  of  the  State  illustrious 
in  that  great  and  protracted  struggle.  Indiana  will  always 
cherish  his  memory,  and  will  write  his  name  high  upon  that 
tardy  monument  which  she  is  yet  to  build  to  the  memory  of 
her  dead  soldiers.  The  highest  achievements  of  his  conspic- 
uous and  useful  life  are  associated  with  the  history  of  his 
native  State.  His  removal  very  soon  after  the  close  of  the 
war  to  California  gave  to  that  State  the  high  privilege  of 
crowning  his  service  and  sacrifice  for  the  Union  with  the 
highest  civil  honors  in  the  gift  of  a  State.  He  was  worthy 
of  this  high  preferment,  and  had  already  in  the  Senate  given 
evidence  that  he  was  a  leader  in  the  field  of  thought  and 
statesmanship  as  well  as  in  the  field  of  arms. 

When  the  war  broke  out  General  MILLER  was  a  member 
of  the  State  senate  of  Indiana,  and  when  that  body  was  assem- 
bled in  special  session  to  devise  such  measures  as  were  nec- 
essary to  collect  and  equip  the  war  quota  of  the  State  he  at 
once,  though  a  very  young  man,  attracted  the  attention  of 
his  colleagues  and  won  the  confidence  of  Governor  Morton. 


42  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

A  defensive  campaign  was  not  compatible  with  his  bold  and 
aggressive  spirit.  He  was  impatient  with  timidity  and  half- 
heartedness.  He  defended  the  cause  of  the  Union  in  debate 
as  he  afterward  defended  Nashville,  by  going  out  of  his  in- 
trenchments  and  whipping  the  enemy  that  was  gathering  to 
besiege  him.  The  debates  at  this  session  of  the  Indiana  sen- 
ate were  sometimes  characterized  by  great  excitement  and 
acrimony,  and  the  part  taken  by  Senator  MILLER  quickly 
gave  him  a  reputation  for  ability  and  courage.  He  was, 
while  still  in  the  senate,  appointed  aid  to  Governor  Morton 
with  the  rank  of  colonel,  and  gave  most  efficient  help  in 
organizing  the  first  troops  that  were  sent  into  the  field. 

But  his  high  spirit  was  not  long  content  with  a  home  serv- 
ice. He  organized  the  Twenty-ninth  Regiment  of  Indiana 
Infantry,  and  in  August,  1861,  was  mustered  in  as  its  col- 
onel. It  is  not  my  purpose  to  follow  the  military  history  of 
General  MILLER.  A  few  incidents  will  suffice  to  show  how 
rapidly,  almost  intuitively,  this  young  lawyer,  untrained  in 
military  schools,  became  a  skillful  and  successful  commander. 
I  do  not  doubt  that  if  the  severe  wound  received  at  Liberty 
Gap,  resulting  in  the  loss  of  an  eye,  had  not  forced  his  retire- 
ment for  a  time  from  severe  military  duty,  he  would  have 
risen  to  the  command  of  an  army.  His  personal  courage 
was  of  the  highest  order,  yet  no  man  was  more  free  from 
brag  or  bluster.  He  was  reserved  in  speech,  but  spirited 
and  resolute  in  action.  In  the  battle  of  Stone  River  he 
received  a  severe  and  almost  fatal  wound  in  the  neck,  but 
refused  to  leave  the  field.  Tying  a  handkerchief  about  the 
wound,  he  was  seen  the  next  instant  riding  in  the  thick  of 
the  fight  encouraging  his  men  to  hold  the  desperate  situa- 
tion confided  to  him.  At  Liberty  Gap,  while  leading  his 
brigade,  he  received  a  bullet  wound  in  the  eye,  which  was 
at  first  thought  to  be  fatal.  The  sight  of  the  eye  was  de- 


Address  of  Mr.  Harrison,  of  Indiana.  43 

stroyed,  and  it  was  not  until  many  years  after  the  war  that 
the  bullet  was  found  to  be  lodged  in  the  eye-socket  and  ex- 
tracted. 

From  a  military  sketch  of  General  MILLER,  in  the  second 
volume  of  Indiana's  Roll  of  Honor,  I  take  two  or  three  ex- 
tracts relating  to  the  part  taken  by  him  in  the  battle  of  Stone 
River. 

Speaking  of  the  desperate  assault  made  upon  his  line  dur- 
ing the  first  day's  fight,  the  author  says: 

During  this  entire  engagement  and  under  all  these  terribly  appalling 
circumstances  Colonel  MILLER  displayed  the  most  admirable  coolness  and 
bravery,  setting  an  example  of  heroic  daring  and  cool  courage  that  has 
seldom  been  equaled,  never  surpassed,  and  could  not  but  find  a  response 
in  the  hearts  of  his  gallant  men.  Though  severely  wounded  he  persisted 
in  remaining  on  the  field,  despite  the  remonstrances  of  the  surgeon;  and 
had  his  resistance  to  the  enemy  been  less  obstinate,  and  had  they  suc- 
ceeded in  forcing  a  passage  through  his  lines,  the  whole  right  whig  of  the 
army,  which  had  been  driven  back,  would  thus  have  been  cut  off  from 
all  support  and  either  captured  or  dispersed:  but  they  were  enabled  by  the 
fierce,  protracted,  and  gallant  struggle  of  Colonel  MILLER  to  gain  the  rear 
of  the  army  and  there  reform  their  shattered  lines. 

Of  the  gallant  and  timely  countercharge  afterward  made 
by  Colonel  MILLEK'S  brigade,  when  assaulted  by  an  over- 
whelming force,  the  same  author  says: 

It  is  now  generally  conceded  by  most  military  men  that  this  bold  and 
dashing  bayonet  charge  into  the  very  heart  of  the  enemy's  lines,  which 
was  conceived,  ordered,  and  led  by  Colonel  MILLER,  and  carried  into  ex- 
ecution solely  upon  his  own  responsibility,  was  the  great  event  of  the 
battle,  and  tended,  perhaps  more  than  any  other,  to  dishearten  the 
enemy  and  to  crown  our  standards  with  another  glorious  victory. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  the  skill  and  ability,  nor  the  distinguished 
bravery  of  the  colonel  in  this  bloody  battle,  nor  of  the  gallantry  of  his 
veteran  troops. 

These  qualities  were  recognized  and  appreciated  by  the  commander-in- 
chief ,  General  Rosecrans,  who  awarded  the  post  of  honor  to  the  Seventh 
Brigade  in  being  the  first  to  enter  Murfreesborough,  and  telegraphed  to 
the  President  from  th3  field  of  battle,  recommending  Colonel  MILLER'S 
promotion  for  "  gallantry  on  the  field." 


44  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

But  few  officers  have  been  so  fortunate  in  securing  the  love,  respect, 
and  confidence  of  their  troops  as  General  MILLER,  and  history,  which 
sooner  or  later  awards  justice  to  all  men,  will  wreathe  around  his  gallant 
deeds  in  this  great  struggle  for  freedom  and  nationality  an  immortal  halo 
of  renown. 

But  the  skill  and  dash,  of  General  MILLER  had  perhaps  its 
best  display  in  the  defense  of  ISTashville,  Tenn.,  where  he  had 
an  independent  command.  His  sudden  and  successful  dashes 
upon  the  enemy  at  Gallatin,  La  Vergne,  Neeley's  Bend,  and 
other  points,  in  all  of  -which  he  was  successful,  tended  to 
maintain  the  spirit  and  efficiency  of  the  garrison  and  at  the 
same  time  to  impress  the  enemy  with  a  wholesome  respect  for 
this  isolated  but  plucky  command.  At  times  food  and  forage 
became  very  scarce,  so  much  so  that  the  inhabitants  were 
suffering  and  the  troops  upon  half -rations.  The  only  source 
of  supply  was  the  surrounding  country,  which  was  occupied 
by  the  enemy.  General  MILLER  was  compelled  many  times 
to  go  out  with  half  his  command  as  an  escort  to  a  foraging 
train,  but  his  movements  were  so  skillfully  concealed  and 
so  quickly  and  boldly  executed  that  they  were  always  suc- 
cessful. 

The  last  active  service  rendered  by  him  was  in  the  great 
battle  of  Nashville  in  December,  1864.  He  was  given  by 
General  Thomas,  who  thoroughly  trusted  him,  a  prominent 
command,  and  throughout  that  severe  engagement  bore 
himself  with  the  same  gallantry  that  characterized  his  early 
service. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  went  again  to  California,  and 
after  exercising  for  some  years  high  official  trusts  under  the 
Government  with  fidelity  and  credit,  he  was  in  1880  elected 
a  Senator  from  that  State. 

Immediately  upon  his  entrance  into  the  Senate  General 
MILLER  took  a  position  of  influence  not  often  awarded  to  new 
members  of  that  body.  Every  one  who  was  brought  into 


Address  of  Mr.  Harrison,  of  Indiana.  45 

contact  with,  him  observed  his  quick  and  fine  perception  and 
his  clear  and  logical  judgment.  He  had  evidently  studied 
with  great  care  and  research  many  public  questions,  especially 
those  affecting  the  commerce  of  the  Pacific  coast  in  its  rela- 
tions to  the  nations  of  South  America  and  the  East.  He  was 
bold  enough  to  give  hospitable  entertainment  to  the  most 
progressive  ideas,  and  believed  that  the  time  had  come  when 
the  kindly  but  powerful  influence  of  the  United  States  should 
be  exerted  in  bringing  about  closer  commercial  and  polit- 
ical relations  with  the  Governments  of  Central  and  South 
America. 

To  him  a  diplomatic  tradition  of  our  younger  and  weaker 
days  was  not  a  necessary  rule  of  action  for  a  nation  of  fifty 
millions.  That  European  influence  should  be  dominant  in 
the  near-lying  American  republics  fretted  him.  That  Euro- 
pean merchants  should  fill  with  their  wares  the  markets  so 
much  needed  for  our  own  surplus,  and  by  neighborhood  so 
clearly  our  own,  stimulated  him  to  seek  for  the  cause  and  a 
remedy.  He  was  not  sparing  of  himself,  and  the  hours  of 
early  morning  often  found  him  at  his  desk.  He  had  always 
risen  in  effort  and  achievement  with  every  promotion  in  life, 
and  the  demands  which  his  onerous  and  dignified  position  as 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  Senate 
made  upon  him  were  responded  to  with  spirit  and  fidelity. 
He  was  not  a  frequent  or  a  fluent  speaker,  but  always  spoke 
with  the  most  careful  and  ample  preparation  and  with  re- 
markable force  and  clearness. 

In  his  private  relations  General  MILLER  was  loved  by  all 
who  knew  him.  His  heart  was  full  of  sympathy  and  all  kind 
impulses,  and  his  hand  was  its  willing  and  generous  servant. 
His  affection  for  wife  and  child  was  not  effusive,  but  it  was 
very  tender,  watchful ,  and  enduring.  His  sense  of  honor  was 
high  and  imperative.  As  an  adversary  he  was  open  and  brave; 


46  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

as  a  friend  he  was  true  and  steadfast.  His  love  of  country 
was  a  passion;  its  unity,  its  honor,  and  its  prosperity  were 
dearer  than  life  to  him.  He  had  twice  shed  his  blood  in  its 
defense.  He  did  this  because  he  loved  his  country;  and  we 
can  not  doubt  his  love  for  the  flag,  the  Constitution,  and  the 
Union  were  deepened  and  intensified  by  the  sacrifices  he  had 
made  in  their  defense.  Another  of  the  great  soldiers  of  the 
war  has  departed.  Wrapped  in  the  flag  he  loved,  and  cov- 
ered with  laurel  wreath  and  flowers,  his  scarred  body  has 
been  laid  to  rest  by  loving  hands.  Indiana  mourns  her  son, 
the  nation  one  of  its  most  gallant  defenders,  and  we  a  friend. 


Address  of  Mr.  DOLPH,  of  Oregon. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  attempt  anything 
like  a  biographical  sketch  of  our  deceased  brother.  I  shall 
leave  that  to  others  who  were  more  intimately  associated  with 
him  in  social  life  and  in  the  labors  of  this  body  and  are  better 
qualified  for  the  task;  but  I  can  not  forbear  on  this  occasion 
to  give  expression  to  the  deep  sense  of  the  loss  I  feel  at  the 
death  of  him  we  mourn  to-day,  and  to  add  to  the  eloquent 
eulogies  already  pronounced  my  feeble  tribute  to  his  mem- 
ory. 

When  the  last  session  of  Congress,  during  which  our  la- 
mented brother  had  been  one  of  the  most  active  and  useful 
members  of  this  body,  closed,  how  bright  his  future  seemed. 
Fortune  smiled  upon  him,  and  everything  which  could  min- 
ister to  his  comfort  and  pleasure  and  gratify  a  cultivated  and 
refined  taste  were  his.  Honored  and  trusted  by  the  people 
of  his  State,  beloved  and  respected  by  his  fellow  Senators,  in 
the  prime  of  life,  his  star  in  the  ascendant,  his  career  as  a 
Senator  apparently  just  begun,  how  little  we  then  thought 


Address  of  Mr.  Dolph,  of  Oregon.  47 

that  lie  would  never  again  occupy  the  seat  in  this  Chamber 
he  had  so  honorably  filled  and  would  never  more  enter  this 
Senate  Hall  alive.  But  death  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  The 
strong  and  the  brave  are  stricken  down  side  by  side  with  the 
feeble  and  the  timid;  rich  and  poor,  noble  and  base,  peasant 
and  king,  are  subject  alike  to  his  fatal  shafts  and  meet  upon 
the  level  of  the  tomb.  Indeed,  often  the  poetic  sentiment 
appears  to  be  justified  that, 

Like  other  tyrants,  death  delights  to  smite 
What,  smitten,  most  proclaims  the  pride  of  pow'r 
And  arbitrary  nod.     His  joy  supreme, 
To  bid  the  wretch  survive  the  fortunate ; 
The  feeble  wrap  the  athletic  in  his  shroud  ; 
And  weeping  fathers  build  their  children's  tomb. 

As  was  said  by  one  of  the  greatest  of  American  statesmen: 
One  may  live  as  a  conqueror  and  king  or  a  magistrate,  but  he  must 
die  as  a  man.  The  bed  of  death  brings  every  human  being  to  his  pure 
individuality,  to  the  intense  contemplation  of  that  deepest  and  most 
solemn  of  all  relations,  the  relation  between  the  creature  and  his  Creator. 
Here  it  is  that  fame  and  renown  can  not  assist  us,  that  even  friends'  affec- 
tion and  human  love  and  devotedness  can  not  succor  us. 

For,  as  was  said  by  an  eminent  writer: 

Nature  intends  that  at  fixed  periods  men  should  succeed  each  other 
by  the  instrumentality  of  death.  They  are  allowed  to  keep  it  at  bay  up 
to  a  certain  point,  but  when  that  is  past  it  will  be  of  no  use  to  make  new 
discoveries  hi  anatomy  or  to  penetrate  more  and  more  into  the  secrets  of 
the  structure  of  the  human  body ;  we  shall  never  outwit  nature  ;  we  shall 
die  as  usual. 

My  personal  acquaintance  with  Senator  MILLER  com- 
menced in  1879,  in  Oregon,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of 
General  Grant  and  party  to  that  State,  of  which  General 
MILLER  and  family  were  members,  and  although  casual  from 
that  time  until  I  became  associated  with  him  in  the  Senate, 
it  was  of  the  most  pleasant  character.  During  the  Forty- 
eighth  Congress  he  always  manifested  a  warm  interest  in  my 
personal  welfare;  and  in  the  measures  presented  by  me  to 
adyance  the  interests  of  the  State  I  in  part  represented  I  had 
his  hearty  co-operation  and  valuable  assistance. 


48  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  MiUer. 

When  I  reached  this  city  in  February,  1883,  he  was  one  of 
the  first  to  welcome  me  to  and  to  extend  to  me  the  hospitalities 
of  his  home.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  meet  him  during 
the  recess  of  Congress,  early  in  July  last,  at  Port  Townsend, 
Wash.,  where,  while  waiting  for  the  sailing  of  the  Alaska 
steamer,  he  and  his  family  were  sojourning  in  the  hope  of 
recruiting  his  already  failing  health.  We  were  fellow-pas- 
sengers upon  that  July  trip  to  Alaska.  During  the  long  and 
pleasant  days  spent  together  upon  that  more  than  delightful 
voyage  we  had  several  conversations,  embracing  a  wide 
range  of  subjects,  but  more  particularly  relating  to  national 
questions  and  matters  appertaining  to  the  Pacific  coast.  He 
was  enthusiastic  concerning  the  future  of  the  coast,  well  in- 
formed as  to  its  resources  and  wants,  and  thoroughly  inter- 
ested in  every  practical  scheme  for  its  development.  I  left 
him,  when  our  routes  separated  upon  our  return,  invigorated 
by  the  trip  and  hopeful  for  the  future. 

The  improvement  in  his  health  proved  to  be  only  tempo- 
rary. He  believed  his  presence  was  required  at  the  capital 
of  the  nation,  and,  as  the  time  for  the  opening  of  Congress 
approached,  he  made  the  journey  from  his  distant  home  with 
the  expectation  of  occupying  his  place  in  the  Senate,  an  ex- 
pectation never  to  be  realized.  The  last  enemy  of  the  human 
race,  the  insatiate  archer,  had  already  sent  the  fatal  shaft, 
with  unerring  aim,  which  was  to  pierce  the  citadel  of  his  life. 
Neither  his  indomitable  will,  the  skill  of  physicians,  nor 
the  kind  offices  of  loving  friends  could  do  more  than  to  post- 
pone for  a  time  the  final  catastrophe.  He  desired  to  live  to 
serve  his  State  and  to  enjoy  the  society  of  his  loved  ones,  and 
manfully  clung  to  hope  from  the  first,  and  heroically  endured 
the  pain  and  confinement  of  his  illness.  With  great  forti- 
tude he  strove  against  the  progress  of  the  disease,  and  with 
thoughtful  solicitude  encouraged  his  wife  and  daughter  to 


Address  of  Mr.  Dolph,  of  Oregon.  49 

hope  for  his  recovery.  But  as  lie  neared  the  end,  evidently 
conscious  of  that  fact,  he  is  reported  to  have  said.  "It  is  not 
worth  the  fight,"  and  with  perfect  resignation  yielded  to  the 
last  of  human  foes;  no  doubt  realizing,  as  he  reviewed  the 
incidents  of  his  life  ere  his  spirit  winged  its  flight,  that  "  every 
man  has  "lived  long  enough  who  has  gone  through  all  the 
duties  of  life  with  unblemished  character,"  and  that  "that 
life  is  long  which  answers  life's  great  end." 

Death  is  sad  to  contemplate  at  best.  Even  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances  "we  start  and  fear  to  die."  But 
death  is  relieved  of  half  its  terrors  when  the  dying,  as  was 
our  departed  brother,  are  surrounded  by  friends  and  receive 
those  kindly  offices  which  only  affection  can  suggest  and  pass 
from  their  presence  across  the  boundary  that  separates  the 
living  from  the  unknown  beyond. 

Senator  MILLER  achieved  great  distinction  as  a  soldier. 
When  the  angry  clouds,  which  had  been  gathering  in  our  po- 
litical sky  for  three-quarters  of  a  century,  burst  in  the  storm 
of  civil  war  and  the  fate  of  the  Union  hung  upon  the  fearful 
arbitrament  of  battle,  and  when,  animated  with  one  purpose — 
the  preservation  of  the  Union — from  farm  and  shop  and  fac- 
tory and  office  and  store  the  patriotic  sons  of  the  North  hur- 
ried to  its  defense,  Senator  MILLER,  then  a  lawyer  and  State 
senator  in  Indiana  was  commissioned  colonel  of  the  Twenty- 
ninth  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  by  Governor  Morton,  of 
that  State,  and  took  the  field. 

His  personal  bravery,  firmness,  and  skill  soon  won  for  him 
the  confidence  of  his  superior  officers  and  the  affection  of  his 
men.  He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Stone  River,  Liberty 
Gap,  and  Nashville,  and  greatly  distinguished  himself  on 
those  fields.  He  was  wounded  in  the  neck  at  the  battle  of 
Stone  River  and  severely  wounded  at  Liberty  Gap.  Retir- 
ing from  the  Army  and  removing  to  California,  by  enter- 
9318  MIL 3 


50  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

prise  and  energy  he  acquired  a  competence  and  became  one 
of  the  foremost  men  of  the  coast,  and  his  election  to  the  Sen- 
ate of  the  United  States  was  a  just  recognition  of  his  ability 
and  merit.  It  is  supposed  that  his  life  was  shortened  by  the 
wound  he  received  in  the  war.  He  was  a  man  who  preferred 
to  wear  out  rather  than  to  rust  out,  and  it  is  possible  that 
his  days  were  cut  short  by  overwork.  There  is  so  much 
indolence  and  so  many  aimless  and  purposeless  lives  in  the 
world  that  I  can  hardly  consider  an  excess  of  energy  a  fault. 

Our  lives  are  measured  by  deeds,  not  years;  and  how  more 
than  true  is  it  that  "fame  is  not  won  on  downy  plumes  nor 
under  canopies;  the  man  who  consumes  his  days  without 
obtaining  it  leaves  such  mark  of  himself  on  earth  as  smoke 
in  air  or  foam  on  water. " 

Rather  than  one  who  is  content  to  drift  with  the  current 
down  the  stream  of  life — 

Give  me  a  spirit  that  on  life's  rough  sea 
Loves  to  have  his  sails  filled  with  a  lusty  wind 
Even  till  his  sailyards  tremble,  his  masts  creak, 
And  his  rapt  ship  runs  on  her  side  so  low 
That  she  drinks  water  and  her  keel  plows  air. 

The  leading  characteristics  of  Senator  MILLER  were  great 
energy,  a  strong  will,  and  a  high  sense  of  honor,  but  with 
all  an  extreme  modesty,  which  upon  a  casual  acquaintance 
created  an  impression  of  stiffness  of  manner,  but  which  dis- 
appeared upon  better  acquaintance.  He  was  well  informed 
and  possessed  decided  opinions  upon  public  questions,  and 
expressed  himself  with  fluency,  freedom,  and  force.  I  have 
been  told  that  when  he  canvassed  the  State  previous  to  his 
election  as  United  States  Senator,  although  he  made  numer- 
ous public  addresses  no  two  of  them  were  alike. 

He  did  not  often  occupy  the  time  of  this  body,  and  when 
he  did  address  the  Senate  there  was  little  attempt  at  rhetoric. 
His  speeches  were  the  earnest  expressions  of  well-matured 


Address  of  Mr.  Dolph,  of  Oregon.  51 

opinions  and  strong  convictions,  and,  without  circumlocu- 
tion, were  directed  to  the  points  involved;  and  if  they  did 
not  always  carry  conviction  they  never  failed  to  convince 
all  who  listened  to  them  of  the  earnestness  and  sincerity  of 
the  speaker.  He  was  honest,  just,  faithful,  direct,  unosten- 
tatious, modest,  considerate,  kind,  and  courteous;  true  to 
country,  his  constituents,  and  himself.  Such  characters 
always  have  and  always  will  command  respect  and  homage. 
His  was  an  example  worthy  of  imitation  by  the  youth  of  the 
land.  His  life  illustrated  the  possibilities  which,  under  our 
form  of  government,  lie  within  the  reach  of  the  humblest. 
The  history  of  his  life  and  of  his  gradual  rise  to  fame,  fort- 
une, and  position  would  be  but  a  repetition  of  the  history  of 
the  lives  of  many  of  the  illustrious  men  of  this  country. 
Such  experiences  as  his  are  more  valuable  to  make  men 
suited  for  great  emergencies,  qualified  to  control  great  en- 
terprises, and  to  fill  responsible  public  positions  than  all  the 
aids  of  birth,  fortune,  schools,  and  influential  friends. 

These  oft-recurring  occasions  in  this  body  naturally  awaken 
serious  reflections.  We  are  reminded  that  death  is  the  inex- 
orable law  of  our  being,  and  that  as  it  is  with  our  brother, 
whose  loss  we  to-day  deplore,  so  will  it  shortly  be  with  us. 
The  bow  is  already  drawn  and  the  arrow  let  loose  which  is 
to  pierce  the  citadel  of  our  mortal  lives.  Would  we  escape 
from  the  fatal  archer,  we  cannot.  "Death  is  everywhere, 
and  procured  by  every  instrument. "  In  such  an  hour,  when 
our  thoughts  are  withdrawn  from  the  labor  and  conflict 
which  so  absorb  us,  and  directed  to  the  end  of  all  human 
labor,  successes,  and  conflicts,  and  we  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  "unsparing  grisly  king  of  terrors,  sole  univer- 
sal monarch  whose  powers  no  prowess  can  resist,  whose  per- 
emptory call  no  artifice  can  evade,"  how  insignificant  seem 
the  greatest  human  achievements,  how  unsatisfactory  the 


52  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

rewards  of  business  and  political  endeavor;  how  the  prayer 
of  the  Psalmist  comes  unbidden  to  mind  and  is  breathed  in 
silent  accents  from  the  lips:  "Lord,  teach  us  to  so  number 
our  days,  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom." 

Brave  soldier,  honored  statesman,  true  friend,  farewell ! 
Peace  to  thy  ashes  !  Over  their  last  resting-place  in  the  beau- 
tiful "city  of  the  dead,"  at  the  great  metropolis  of  the  Pa- 
cific, fanned  by  the  breath  of  the  tropics,  may  flowers  bloom 
earliest  in  spring  and  linger  latest  in  autumn,  and  by  the 
people  of  a  grateful  country  may  thy  memory,  as  a  sweet 
fragrance,  long  be  cherished.  Neither  the  din  of  the  great 
city  nor  the  roar  of  the  ocean  waves  that  break  on  the  shores 
of  the  Golden  Gate  can  disturb  thy  repose.  Though  the 
body  is  mortal,  we  know  the  soul  is  immortal,  and  that,  safe 
in  the  abode  of  the  blessed,  beyond  the  reach  of  praise  and 
censure,  of  the  mutations  of  time  and  the  ills  of  life,  thou 
shalt  enjoy  a  state  of  eternal  felicity.  From  that  bright 
abode,  if  it  is  permitted  to  the  spirits  of  the  departed  to  be- 
hold the  affairs  of  earth,  look  down  upon  our  sorrow,  exalt 
our  minds  from  fond  regret  and  unavailing  grief  to  the  con- 
templation of  thy  virtues.  Those  we  must  not  lament;  it 
were  impiety  to  sully  them  with  a  tear.  To  cherish  their 
memory,  to  embalm  them  with  our  praises,  and,  if  our  frail 
condition  will  permit,  to  emulate  thy  bright  example  will  be 
the  truest  mark  of  our  respect,  the  best  tribute  we  can  offer. 


Address  of  Mr.  HEARST,  of  California. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  The  Senators  who  have  preceded  me  have 
spoken  of  Senator  MILLER  as  a  soldier  and  a  statesman.  It 
now  becomes  my  privilege  to  speak  of  him  as  a  citizen,  in 
which  capacity  also  he  served  his  country. 

He  and  his  associates  were  the  recipients  of  one  of  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Hearst,  of  California.  53 

most  important  franchises  in  the  gift  of  the  Government. 
Out  of  this  grew  an  enterprise  which  has  been  carried  on  to 
the  best  interests  of  all  parties  therein  concerned,  in  proof  of 
which  the  books  have  ever  been  open  for  the  investigation 
of  any  authorized  agent;  in  fact,  to  my  knowledge  such  in- 
vestigation has  always  been  invited. 

The  management  not  only  protected  the  Government,  but 
a  system  was  created  which  enabled  the  helpless  and  igno- 
rant Indians  engaged  in  the  work  to  save  such  a  proportion 
of  their  earnings  that  there  is  to-day  to  their  credit  in  the 
banks  of  San  Francisco  $100,000,  which  amount  might  have 
gone  into  the  coffers  of  the  company  for  the  simple  consid- 
eration of  five  barrels  of  bad  whisky. 

This  instance  alone  is  sufficient  to  show  the  purity  and 
integrity  of  the  man's  life.  Such  an  example  should  be  writ- 
ten on  the  mile-posts  of  the  highway,  chiseled  in  the  cliffs 
along  the  trails  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  graven  on  the  gran- 
ite of  the  Sierras,  hewn  on  the  tall  pines  of  the  Pacific  slope, 
and  commemorated  in  the  flowers  in  the  valleys  of  the  dead 
Senator's  adopted  State. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  as  an  additional  mark  of  respect  to 
the  memory  of  the  deceased,  I  move  that  the  Senate  adjourn. 

The  motion  was  unanimously  agreed  to;  and  (at  3  o'clock 
and  37  minutes  p.  m.)  the  Senate  adjourned  to  Friday,  May 
28,  at  12  o'clock  m, 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 


In  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  28th  of  June  having 
been  set  aside  for  this  purpose,  the  following  proceedings 
were  had  there : 

Mr.  MORROW.  Mr.  Speaker,  in  accordance  with  the  no- 
tice given  heretofore,  I  now  call  up  for  consideration  the  res- 
olutions of  the  Senate  in  relation  to  the  death  of  Hon.  JOHN 
F.  MILLER,  late  a  Senator  from  California,  and  ask  that  they 
be  read. 

The  Senate  resolutions  were  read,  as  follows : 

IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  May  27,  1886. 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death 
of  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  late  a  Senator  from 'the  State  of  California. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased  the 
business  of  the  Senate  be  now  suspended  to  enable  his  associates  to  pay 
proper  tribute  of  regard  to  his  high  character  and  distinguished  public 
ser  vices. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  communicate  these  resolu- 
tions to  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Resolved,  That  as  an  additional  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased  the  Senate  do  now  adjourn. 

Mr.  MORROW.    In  connection  with  the  resolutions  which 
nave  just  been  read  I  desire  to  offer  the  following  resolutions 
and  ask  their  present  consideration. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  the  House  of  Representatives  has  received  with  great 
sorrow  the  official  announcement  of  the  death  of  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  late  a 
Senator  from  the  State  of  California. 

Resolved,  That  the  business  of  the  House  be  now  suspended,  that  oppor- 
tunity may  be  afforded  to  members  to  give  expression  of  the  sentiments 

55 


56  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

they  entertain  for  the  life,  character,  and  public  services  of  the  late  Sen- 
ator MILLER,  and  the  loss  sustained  by  the  country  in  the  death  of  so  able 
and  faithful  a  public  servant. 

Resolved,  That  at  the  conclusion  of  these  tributes  to  his  memory  the 
House  stands  adjourned. 


Address  of  Mr.  GROSVENOR,  of  Ohio. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  I  rise  to  advocate  the  adoption  of  the  reso- 
lutions which  have  just  been  read.  At  the  same  time  I  de- 
sire to  offer  brief  testimony  of  my  own  personal  regard  for 
the  memory  of  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  as  well  as  to  call  the  at- 
tention of  the  House  to  some  of  the  salient  characteristics  of 
that  distinguished  citizen  as  they  fell  under  my  own  personal 
observation  during  my  acquaintance  with  him. 

JOHN  F.  MILLER  was  born  in  the  State  of  Indiana.  He 
came  to  manhood  at  a  time  when  the  great  questions  which 
culminated  ultimately  in  the  civil  war  were  agitating  the 
people  of  that  State.  In  common  with  a  large  body  of  the 
younger  men  of  Indiana,  he  espoused  heartily  everywhere 
the  cause  of  the  Union  and  the  proposition  to  uphold  the  su- 
premacy of  the  Constitution;  and  when  the  war  broke  out 
the  call  of  the  Government  for  troops  came  to  him  as  a  bap- 
tism, and  he  entered  the  Union  Army  imbued  with  the  true 
sentiments  of  the  period  in  which  he  lived.  He  went  into 
the  war  as  a  Union  man. 

Whatever  may  be  said  now,  looking  backward  over  that 
period  of  time,  JOHN  F.  MILLER  lived  in  the  present  of  that 
time  and  not  in  the  prospective  future;  for  it  is  within  my 
own  personal  knowledge  that  he  accepted  in  the  fullest  de- 
gree the  idea  of  the  martyred  President,  that  the  war  was 
to  be  waged  as  a  war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  and 
he  adopted,  without  reservation  in  the  present  or  prospec- 
tive enlargement  in  the  future,  the  utterance  of  Lincoln,  ' '  I 


Address  of  Mr.  G-rosvenor,  of  Ohio.  57 

would  save  the  Union  with,  slavery  if  I  can,  but  if  I  can  not 
save  the  Union  without  destroying  slavery,  I  will  save  the 
Union." 

It  was  under  the  inspiration  of  that  sentiment,  the  real 
Union  sentiment  of  1861,  that  JOHN  F.  MILLER  joined  the 
armies  of  the  Union.  I  first  became  a  subordinate  to  him 
at  a  time  when  neither  of  us  had  received  or  witnessed  the 
baptism  of  blood;  and  the  first  day  that  i  ever  reported  to 
him  for  duty  was  at  a  time  when  he  had  received  an  order, 
during  the  memorable  eight  weeks  of  what  we  have  termed 
the  blockade  of  Nashville  in  the  fall  of  1862,  to  proceed  with 
his  command,  by  night  march,  to  attack  an  outpost  of  the 
enemy  at  Lavergne.  I  speak  of  Jjavergne  because  I  have 
treasured  it  always  in  my  memory.  It  was  at  Lavergne,  or 
on  our  way  to  it,  that  I  heard  the  first  whistle  of  a  bullet 
fired  by  an  enemy  of  the  flag  of  my  country,  and  I  know 
that  the  same  deep  impression  was  made  upon  him  as  upon 
me,  for  when  I  visited  California  I  learned  that  the  beautiful 
home  which  he  had  reared  for  himself  in  the  magnificently 
beautiful  valley  of  Napa  was  called  Lavergne,  indicating 
that  the  impressions  were  upon  him  as  they  had  been  upon 
me,  and  were  most  lasting  in  their  duration. 

I  remember  very  well  the  circumstances  of  that  march.  I 
remember  very  well  the  early  daylight  attack  upon  the 
enemy.  With  a  vastly  superior  force  we  surprised  the 
small  force  there,  and  captured  the  most  of  them  and  stam- 
peded the  rest.  It  was  an  insignificant  battle  as  compared 
with  the  great  battles  which  followed;  it  was  insignificant  in 
the  numbers  engaged;  it  was  insignificant  in  the  blood  which 
was  shed,  and  insignificant  in  its  results;  but  yet  it  gave 
to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  or  that  portion  of  it  which 
was  engaged,  an  opportunity  to  mark  the  first  step  in  the 
direction  of  actual  war  on  the  part  of  the  men  who  were 


58  Life  anil  Clifirarfcr  of  John  F.  Miller. 

afterward  to  become  famous  during  that  struggle.  I  re- 
member the  plaudits  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  that 
were  showered  upon  JOHN  F.  MILLER  after  his  distinguished 
career  at  Stone  River.  It  was  an  early  exhibition  on  the 
part  of  a  mere  colonel  of  infantry,  of  a  spirit  which  im- 
bued the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  later  when,  without  the 
orders  of  the  commander,  and  even  against  the  suggestion  of 
General  Grant  himself,  they  passed  the  rifle-pits  at  the  foot 
of  Missionary  Ridge,  charged  to  its  top,  and  won  a  victory — 
a  victory  won  by  the  private  soldiers  of  the  Army  in  obedi- 
ence to  orders  which  no  general  officer  of  the  Army  has  been 
able  to  find  a  record  of  and  no  officer  claims  to  have  given. 
The  orders  were  the  sound  of  the  enemy's  guns — the  orders 
which  carried  gallant  old  JIM  STEEDMAN  to  the  glory  he  won 
at  Chickarnauga. 

At  Stone  River  JOHN  F.  MILLER  made  a  demonstration 

i 

of  the  same  character,  and  crowned  his  career  in  that  battle 
with  a  result  grandly  significant  and  valuable  to  the  Union 
Army.  He  was  wounded.  It  was  supposed  that  he  was  per- 
manently disabled.  But  six  months  afterward,  when  the 
great  army  under  Rosecrans  refitted  and  reorganized,  and 
in  magnificent  battle  array,  on  the  24th  day  of  June,  1863, 
poured  out  from  their  camps  at  Murfreesborough  and  moved 
by  divers  lines  of  communication  in  the  direction  of  the  Ten- 
nessee River,  JOHN  F.  MILLER  rode  out  at  the  head  of  his 
brigade,  the  incarnation  of  war  in  the  person  of  a  volunteer 
officer,  and  with  a  bright  view  ahead  of  him.  His  career  up 
to  that  time  had  given  a  promise  that  nobody  doubted  the 
fulfillment  of.  But  in  an  insignificant  engagement  incident 
to  the  long  march  to  Tullahoma  and  Manchester  he  fell 
again,  terribly  wounded,  in  the  affair  at  Liberty  Gap.  I  re- 
member well  when  he  was  being  carried  back  to  the  rear 
with  a  wound  that  ultimately  terminated  his  life.  I  re- 
member the  look  that  was  on  his  face,  and  I  remember  a 


Address  of  Mr.  Grosvenor,  of  Ohio.  59 

single  utterance.  Hopeful  words  were  being  spoken  to  him 
as  to  his  recovery,  and  consolation  was  being  administered 
to  him  by  his  comrades  around  him,  and  he  said  just  this  : 
"  I  estimate  no  importance  so  far  as  my  own  personal  future 
is  concerned,  as  compared  with  the  disappointment  that  I 
shall  not  participate  to  the  end  in  this  great  campaign. " 

A  career  that  would  have  been  second  to  that  of  no  volun- 
teer officer  in  the  Union  Army,  in  my  judgment,  was  by 
that  bullet,  that  fatal  bullet,  turned  aside,  and  General  MIL- 
LER was  assigned  to  a  duty  which  took  him  out  of  the  active 
command  of  active  troops  in  the  front.  Very  few  men 
would  have  remained  in  the  service  under  such  circum- 
stances. Patriotism  inspired  him  to  hold  on.  A  high  sense 
of  duty,  a  high  sense,  as  he  termed  it,  of  gratitude  to  his 
State  and  to  his  country  that  had  conferred  the  honors  upon 
him,  induced  him  to  stay  and  do  what  he  might  do  to  still 
further  promote  the  interests  of  the  Union  Army. 

He  was  assigned  to  the  very  important  and  delicate  posi- 
tion of  Nashville.  Nashville  at  that  time  contained  more 
property  belonging  to  the  Government  than  any  other  place 
south  of  the  Ohio  River.  The  population  was  a  mixed  one. 
It  was  made  up  of  citizens  of  strong  rebel  tendencies  and 
citizens  with  strong  Union  tendencies,  and  there  were  bitter 
antagonisms.  Out  from  Nashville  radiated  the  power  of  the 
Union,  and  out  of  Nashville  also  radiated  the  influence  of 
our  enemy.  The  friends  of  many  a  fighting  Confederate  re- 
mained there,  and  property  rights  and  confusion  of  all  kinds 
pressed  upon  the  commander  of  the  post. 

Conflicting  interests  arose  everywhere,  and  General  MIL- 
LER became  a  sort  of  civil  or  quasi-civil  commander.  No 
man  ever  did  his  duty  better;  no  man  ever  more  justly 
won  the  high  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  people  of  a  city 
or  of  his  commanders  in  the  army  or  of  his  whole  people 
than  did  JOHN  F.  MILLER.  He  was-  unflinching  in  the  dis- 


60  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

charge  of  duty  and  yet  always  considerate  of  the  rights  of 
men;  and  to-day  his  memory  is  green  among  the  men  who 
loved  the  Union  in  Nashville,  and  he  is  held  in  high  regard 
among  the  people  who  at  that  time  were  the  enemies  of  the 
Union. 

He  was  there  with  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  under 
Thomas  when  it  won  its  grandest  victory.  He  contributed 
by  the  organization  of  the  forces  in  the  city  and  the  sur- 
rounding positions  greatly  to  the  efficiency  of  the  army 
which  on  the  loth  and  16th  of  December,  1864,  encountered 
the  army  under  Hood  in  the  last  great  struggle  for  suprem- 
acy in  Tennessee.  And  from  the  top  of  Overton  Hill, 
JOHN  F.  MILLER,  disfigured  and  almost  destroyed  by  the 
bullets  of  the  enemy,  looked  out  upon  the  broken  masses  of 
Hood's  army  as  they  retreated  shattered  and  disorganized 
toward  Brentwood,  and  understood,  as  we  all  understood, 
that  his  career  in  the  Army  had  ended.  Well  had  he  done 
his  work,  and  well  had  gained  rank,  fame,  and  the  gratitude 
of  his  country. 

I  did  not  rise  to  speak  at  any  length  of  JOHN  F.  MILLER  as 
a  citizen.  Others  will  do  that  who  knew  him  better.  Others 
will  speak  of  his  career  since  the  war.  I  came  here  simply 
to  testify  to  his  character  and  attainments  as  a  soldier  and 
to  give  them  my  meed  of  praise.  He  was  strictly  a  volun- 
teer soldier.  He  had  no  training  in  arms;  and  yet  within  a 
year  and  a  half  after  he  joined  his  regiment  his  military 
attitude,  his  military  bearing,  his  military  character  was 
formed,  and  he  showed  to  the  world  that  he  had  in  him  the 
stuff,  the  elements  that  make  a  great  military  commander. 

Since  that  time  his  career  has  been  that  of  a  civilian.  He 
achieved  success  everywhere,  rapid  success,  which  crowned 
his  efforts  on  behalf  of  the  Union,  crowned  his  efforts  on  be- 
half of  his  country.  Afterward  he  carried  from  his  native 
State  and  handed  over  to  the  Golden  State  of  California  an 


Address  of  Mr.  Grosvenor,  of  Ohio.  61 

allegiance  that  never  faltered,  and  he  became  identified  with 
and  an  advocate  of  her  interests  with  the  same  zeal,  the  same 
courage,  the  same  high  purpose  that  he  had  brought  to  the 
discharge  of  every  duty  that  he  had  ever  attempted  the  per- 
formance of. 

I  testify  from  my  own  knowledge  of  him  that  he  was  a 
patriotic  citizen,  that  he  was  a  successful  soldier,  that  he 
made  the  highest  sacrifice  that  any  man  could  make  for  his 
country,  that  in  civil  life  he  was  clear-headed  and  patriotic, 
always  standing  by  the  right,  never  flinching,  never  compro- 
mising, never  yielding  his  convictions  of  duty  and  justice. 

In  social  life  among  his  friends  and  in  his  family  he  was  a 
gentle,  kind,  good  man.  Out  upon  the  shore  of  the  Pacific, 
in  the  soil  of  the  State  that  he  loved,  and  to  which,  as  I  have 
said,  he  carried  his  ripest  allegiance,  he  lies  to-day,  his  career 
ended.  Over  his  grave  the  tears  of  affection  will  be  shed. 
Upon  his  grave  will  be  heaped  the  laurels  of  affection  for 
many  a  year  to  come.  May  the  time  never  come  when  his 
example  shall  not  be  to  the  people  of  this  country  a  bright, 
a  burning,  a  shining  light. 


Address  of  Mr.  HOLMAN,  of  Indiana. 

Mr.  CHAIRMAN:  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  late  a  Senator  of  the 
United  States,  was  a  native  of  Indiana,  and  it  seems  proper 
that  the  voice  of  that  State  should  be  heard  in  this  public 
expression  of  sorrow  for  his  death.  Mr.  MILLER  was  of  Vir- 
ginia descent.  His  ancestors  were  Virginians.  His  father 
emigrated  from  that  venerable  Commonwealth  to  the  then 
new  State  of  Indiana,  where  JOHN  F.  MILLER  was  born  and 
educated,  enjoying,  as  I  have  been  informed,  such  educa- 
tional advantages  as  are  common  to  the  young  men  in  a 


62  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

comparatively  new  settlement.  His  father  and  mother  were 
eager  to  furnish  him  every  opportunity  that  their  circum- 
stances would  permit.  He  studied  law  under  favorable  con- 
ditions, entering  upon  the  practice  of  that  profession  at  an 
early  age.  In  1860,  for  the  first  time,  so  far  as  I  am  in- 
formed, he  became  prominent  in  tne  politics  of  the  State, 
but  before  that  time  had  visited  California  and  practiced  his 
profession  in  that  State.  No  political  contest  in  the  history 
of  Indiana  was  ever  of  more  interest  than  that  of  1860. 

An  unusually  large  number  of  young  men  came  to  the 
front  who  identified  themselves  with  the  fortunes  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  then  in  its  early  vigor.  The  great  question 
soon  to  involve  the  nation  in  war  was  arresting  the  attention 
of  all  men,  and  gave  unusual  animation,  anxiety,  and  ear- 
nestness to  that  contest  throughout  the  whole  Union,  but  in 
no  State  more  than  in  Indiana.  Mr.  MILLER  was  elected  to 
the  senate,  I  think,  from  the  county  of  Saint  Joseph,  at  that 
time  one  of  the  strong  young  counties  of  Indiana.  I  was 
then  a  member  of  this  House,  and  residing  remote  from  his 
section  of  the  State  my  knowledge  of  Mr.  MILLER  was  slight; 
I  only  knew  him  as  one  of  the  promising  young  men  who 
had  just  entered  public  life.  He  occupied  in  the  Senate  a 
position  with  a  number  of  young  men  of  unusual  ability, 
some  to  become  known  in  arms  and  civil  affairs. 

He  was  not  specially  active  or  prominent  in  the  current 
business  of  that  body,  for,  from  the  time  the  senate  to  which 
he  was  elected  assembled,  the  hurrying,  remorseless  events 
which  were  soon  to  involve  the  land  in  the  misfortunes  of 
civil  war  were  arresting  the  attention  and  filling  the  minds 
of  all  men.  When  the  tocsin  of  war  was  sounded  he  resigned 
his  position  in  the  senate  and  hastened  into  the  Army  of  the 
Union  without  a  moment's  hesitation.  Enough  was  known 
of  Mr.  MILLER  'at  that  time  to'  warrant  the  belief  that,  if  life 


Address  of  J/r.  Holman,  of  Indiana.  63 

were  spared  him,  lie  was  entering  upon  a  brilliant  career. 
The  gentleman  from  Ohio  [Mr.  GBOSVENOR]  has  rehearsed 
in  eloquent  terms  his  honorable  and  heroic  record  in  the 
Army.  I  will  not  dwell  upon  that  record.  The  gentleman 
from  Ohio,  his  comrade  in  arms,  has  well  and  ably  pre- 
sented the  leading  events  of  that  honorable  record,  but  I  can 
testify  that  the  hopes  of  his  friends  were  fully  realized  in  his 
honorable  career  in  the  Army. 

Entering  the  Army  as  colonel  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Regi- 
ment of  Indiana  Volunteers,  with  the  manly  and  gallant 
deportment  and  those  qualities  and  sentiments  of  honor, 
courage,  and  prudence  which  secure  respect,  confidence,  rep- 
utation and  distinction  alike  in  civil  and  military  life,  Mr. 
MILLER  rapidly  rose  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  and 
a  higher  grade  by  brevet  for  heroic  deportment  in  battle. 
He  attained  that  high  position  not  by  any  favoritism,  but  by 
the  force  of  character  and  qualification  and  capacity  for  mil- 
itary affairs.  After  the  war  was  over  Mr.  MILLER,  having 
previously  resided  for  a  short  time  in  California,  returned 
to  that  State.  I  think  the  last  time  I  saw  him  in  the  city  of 
Indianapolis  was  shortly  before  he  left  Indiana  for  Califor- 
nia. I  then  saw  that  the  man  of  1860  had  grown  in  every 
respect.  Possessed  of  very  fine  social  qualities  and  marked 
energy  of  character,  he  was  then  displaying  that  broad  ca- 
pacity, especially  for  business  affairs,  which  afterward,  even 
more  than  his  career  in  politics,  seems  to  have  distinguished 
his  life. 

About  the  year  1870  Mr.  MILLER  came  to  this  capital  in 
connection  with  legislative  matters  affecting  the  State  of  his 
adoption — enterprises  on  the  Pacific — the  State  which  then 
seemed  even  more  dear  to  him  than  the  great  State  from 
which  he  had  emigrated.  While  in  Washington  I  saw  him 
frequently.  He  called  on  me  as  an  Indianian.  He  fre- 


64  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

quently  appeared  before  one  of  the  committees  of  the  House 
of  which  I  had  the  honor  to  be  a  member,  and  I  was  still 
further  impressed  with  the  scope  and  breadth  of  the  views 
which  he  entertained  and  expressed  touching  the  great  inter- 
ests of  the  Pacific  coast.  He  saw  clearly  the  magnitude  of 
the  resources  to  be  developed  there  in  the  then  early  future; 
he  comprehended  the  situation  thoroughly,  and  seemed  pre- 
pared and  qualified  to  enter  into  all  the  great  enterprises  of 
the  Pacific  coast  with  the  energy,  hopefulness,  and  confi- 
dence which  had  marked  his  character  in  earlier  life;  so  that, 
from  the  observations  I  made  of  Mr.  MILLER  at  that  time, 
I  was  not  at  all  surprised  when,  soon  afterward,  he  became 
prominently  identified  with  the  political  as  well  as  business 
affairs  of  the  State  of  California. 

His  election  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  seems  to 
have  been  the  result  of  the  confidence  inspired  by  his  intelli- 
gence, force  of  character,  capacity,  and  patriotism.  His 
career  in  the  Senate  is  known  to  the  country.  He  died  in 
comparatively  early  life,  at  the  period,  perhaps,  when  most 
public  men  have  but  fairly  entered  upon  the  real  usefulness 
of  a  public  career.  The  death  of  an  eminent  and  useful  citi- 
zen connected  with  public  affairs  at  such  a  period  in  life,  be- 
fore the  weight  of  age  has  rested  heavily  upon  him,  is  always 
a  melancholy  event,  to  be  deplored  not  alone  in  the  home 
circle  or  the  State  of  his  residence  but  by  his  whole  country. 
»  It  would  have  been  strange  if  the  career  of  Mr.  MILLER 
had  not  been  a  marked  one.  His  abilities  were  of  a  very 
superior  order.  From  my  earlier  acquaintance  with  him  I 
should  not  have  thought  that  he  would  be  as  eminent  in 
statesmanship  as  in  the  field  of  business  and  affairs.  He 
seemed  to  me  to  possess  the  capacity  of  comprehending  in 
their  widest  extent,  as  well  as  in  their  minutest  details,  the 
great  affairs  of  business,  the  enterprises  that  make  and  open 


I 

Address  of  Mr.  Holman,  of  Indiana.  65 

opportunities,  that  create  great  industries,  that  develop  a 
great  and  prosperous  community. 

His  capacity  and  powers  as  seen  by  me  were  of  that  char- 
acter, rather  than  such  as  give  men  prominence  in  politics 
or  statesmanship.  He  did  not  teem  to  me  to  be  a  man  who 
would  engage  earnestly  in  political  contests  and  rise  to  emi- 
nence by  devotion  to  the  principles  and  fortunes  of  a  politi- 
cal party,  but  one  who  would  achieve  reputation  and  distinc- 
tion in  business  enterprises  and  commercial  affairs.  He 
entered  the  Army,  as  I  inferred  from  what  I  knew  of  his 
views,  not  so  much  by  any  special  antagonism  to  the  insti- 
tution  of  slavery,  the  cause  of  that  fearful  contest,  as  by 
devoted  attachment  to  the  Union,  a  sentiment  that  filled  the 
hearts  of  the  young  men  of  Indiana. 

The  men  who  migrated  to  Indiana  from  Virginia  and 
others  of  the  older  States  were  in  many  instances  strongly 
anti-slavery  in  their  sentiments,  but  the  great  mass  cf  the 
young  men  of  that  section  of  the  country  who  rushed  for- 
ward to  support  the  tottering  fabric  of  the  Union  were  influ- 
enced more  by  a  living  sentiment  of  devotion  to  the  Union 
of  the  States  than  by  any  settled  convictions  as  to  whether 
slavery  should  be  abolished  or  not  The  preservation  of  the 
Union  of  the  States  inspired  them.  The  motive  seemed 
then  sufficient  to  inspire  the  grandest  heroism,  but  how 
much  grander  now  than  even  then ! 

In  later  years,  however,  as  I  inferred  from  a  brief  conver- 
sation with  him  on  the  Pacific  coast  last  summer,  his  views 
had  become  much  more  confirmed  and  positive  upon  politi- 
cal subjects,  and  he  seemed  to  cordially  and  heartily  indorse 
the  principles  of  the  great  party  with  which  he  had  been 
associated  from  early  life.  And  yet  he  seemed  to  me  more  a 
man  of  business  and  affairs  than  a  politician  or  statesman. 

I  can  only  add,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  the  death  of  a  man  of 
9318  MIL 5 


66  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

his  broad  views,  his  capacity  for  affairs,  his  devotion  to 
country,  is  a  great  misfortune  to  the  whole  Union,  and  that 
in  no  one  of  the  great  sisterhood  of  States  will  the  expres- 
sion that  will  be  made  by  this  House,  and  has  been  in  the 
Senate  (so  appropriate  to  the  loss  of  so  great  a  citizen),  of 
appreciation  of  the  qualities  which  made  JOHN  F.  MILLER 
eminent,  honored,  and  distinguished  alike  in  war  and  in 
peace,  find  a  larger  body  of  earnest  sympathizers  than  in 
the  State  which  I  have  the  honor  in  part  here  to  represent. 


Address  of  Mr.  CUTCHEON,  of  Michigan. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  A  leader  has  fallen.  A  man  is  gone!  We 
pause  to-day  for  a  little  while  in  the  midst  of  our  public 
duties  to  contemplate  a  life  and  a  lesson  which,  if  given  due 
consideration,  may  tend  quite  as  much  to  the  welfare  and 
honor  of  the  Republic  as  if  the  hour  were  given  to  the  ordi- 
nary tasks  of  legislation. 

We  stand  to-day  in  the  presence  of  that  most  impressive 
phenomenon,  a  finished  life — a  completed  life-work  ;  in  the 
presence  of  that  greatest  mystery  of  all  our  being,  the  disso- 
lution of  that  subtle  tie  which  binds  the  soul  to  the  mortal 
frame,  and  which  being  unbound  the  form  which  has  been 
a  thing  of  power  and  beauty  lapses  to  corruption,  and  the 
masterful  spirit,  unchained  from  its  fetters  of  flesh,  flies 
whither  all  sense  fails  to  discern  and  faith  alone  can  follow. 

That  noblest  work  of  God,  an  honest  man,  as  an  actual 
presence,  has  ceased  from  among  men. 

Except  as  a  memory  and  an  influence  his  life  is  ended,  his 

•  work  is  complete  to  our  limited  perceptions.     The  eye  that 

flashed  with  intelligence  is  dark  ;    the  voice  that  quivered 

with  emotion  or  inspired  like  the  summons  of  a  trumpet  in 

the  crash  of  battle  is  silent ;  the  hand  of  might  is  nerveless; 


Address  of  Mr.  Outcheon,  of  Michigan.  67 

the  presence  which  was  familiar  in  court  and  camp  and 
council  is  seen  no  more  among  men.  A  power  that  moved 
men,  that  wielded  communities,  that  shaped  destinies,  has 
ceased  to  manifest  itself.  In  brief,  a  man  is  gone  !  And 
yet  it  is  because  he  is  not  wholly  gone  that  we  pause  to  cel- 
ebrate this  memorial  to-day. 

The  fountains  which  he  touched  still  flow  ;  the  trains  of 
events  which  he  set  in  motion  still  operate  ;  lives  which  he 
molded  and  directed  still  multiply  and  extend  his  influence; 
blows  that  he  struck  still  resound  throughout  the  land; 
winged  words  that  he  uttered  still  fly  from  lip  to  lip,  over- 
leaping the  narrow  boundaries  of  mortal  life. 

The  present  century  has  been  full  of  great  thoughts  and 
great  words,  and  among  the  greatest  has  been  the  thought 
and  the  word  "  evolution."  And  there  is  no  grander  field 
for  study  than  the  evolution  of  a  life — of  life  from  life. 

I  do  not  mean  this  in  the  narrow  sense  of  the  evolution  of 
natural  or  animal  life,  the  mere  relighting  of  a  torch  from 
the  embers  of  a  dying  fire.  I  mean  rather  the  study  of  the 
development  of  character  from  the  action  and  interaction 
of  all  the  forces  and  agencies  that  impinge  upon  and  pene- 
trate life. 

It  is  because  the  deceased  Senator  had  become  a  factor  in. 
this  process  of  evolution  of  national  life  that  the  business  of 
the  House  is  suspended,  that  we  may  dwell  upon  the  event 
and  study  the  character  of  him  whom  we  commemorate. 

Here  we  contemplate  him  stripped  of  all  adventitious  sur- 
roundings. He  was  a  Senator.  He  is  a  Senator  no  more. 
He  was  a  military  leader.  He  is  a  general  no  longer.  He 
commanded  great  enterprises.  He  commands  them  not  now. 
Whatever  he  may  have  been  by  virtue  of  rank  or  office  or 
station,  he  is  now  simply  a  man,  a  character.  As  such  let 
us  speak  of  him. 


68  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

The  late  Senator  MILLER  was  not  personally  known  to  me 
except  as  a  public  man.  I  knew  him  only  as  we  all  know 
men  who  touch  the  multitudes,  the  masses  of  men ;  as  we 
know  the  men  who  by  strong  powers  are  lifted  up  into 
sight  of  the  many. 

Let  us  measure  this  man,  if  we  can,  and  ascertain  what  it 
was  in  his  life  that  made  him  what  he  was ;  that  gave  him  power 
to  command  and  gained  him  the  confidence  and  love  of  a  great 
Commonwealth,  whose  commission  he  bore. 

First  let  us  glance  at  the  outside  of  his  life. 

He  was  born  in  1831,  in  Southern  Indiana,  of  parents  who 
had  removed,  first  from  Virginia,  then  from  Kentucky,  and 
who  were  of  Scotch  and  Swiss  descent — two  strong  and  lib- 
erty-loving races. 

He  was  nurtured  in  the  school  of  independence  and  self- 
support.  He  was  well  cultured  in  youth  and  trained  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  law. 

When  he  had  scarcely  more  than  attained  his  majority  he 
cut  .oose  from  home  and  old  friends  and  struck  out  into  the 
romantic,  the  almost  mythical,  the  golden  West — the  modern 
El  Dorado. 

In  the  broad,  free,  and  somewhat  unpolished  spirit  of  that 
rough,  new  laud  he  grew  into  the  firm  mold  of  a  strong, 
self-reliant,  and  adventurous  manhood. 

Recalled  by  the  demands  of  filial  duty,  to  which  he  was 
ever  responsive,  he  returned  to  his  former  home  and  to  the 
practice  of  his  exacting  profession. 

It  was  at  a  time  when  ancient  parties  were  breaking  up 
and  going  to  pieces  in  the  fierce  throes  of  a  mighty  moral 
upheaval. 

In  the  heat  of  this  smithy  of  the  gods,  where  thunderbolts 
were  forging,  the  character,  well  modeled  by  heredity, 
shaped  by  education,  strengthened  and  broadened  by  travel 


Address  of  Mr.  Cutcheon,  of  Michigan.  69 

and  experience  of  rude  frontier  life,  was  tempered  and  hard- 
ened into  enduring  texture. 

The  cry  of  the  oppressed,  of  the  millions  deprived  of  the 
common  rights  and  privileges  of  humanity,  came  up  to  him 
with  an  irresistible  appeal  that  smote  upon  his  conscience 
and  his  volition  as  the  voice  of  God. 

Then  the  divine  ichor  that  had  been  distilled  into  ancestral 
blood  within  sight  of  the  majestic  vision  of  Mont  Blanc,  or 
the  awful  heights  of  the  Jungfrau,  or  that  had  hardened  the 
sinews  of  some  progenitor  at  Bannockburn,  stirred  within 
his  veins,  and  ths  august  summons  of  Liberty  to  do  battle 
in  her  cause  found  in  young  MILLER  a  ready  and  obedient 
votary. 

So  we  find  him  in  1860,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  a  member 
of  the  senate  of  his  native  State,  as  a  representative  of  that 
young  and  burning  and  puissant  party  which  demanded  that 
no  more  virgin  Territories  should  be  laid  in  the  arms  of  the 
unholy  Moloch  of  slavery.  We  shall  never  forget  that 
year.  It  was  the  Lincoln  year.  It  was  a  year  when  men 
seemed  to  break  away  from  all  the  traditions  of  their  lives 
and  surrender  themselves  to  the  control  of  one  overpowering 
sentiment,  that  now  or  never  was  the  time  to  stay  the  further 
spread  of  human  slavery  in  this  land. 

Men  may  reason  as  they  please  as  to  the  origin  and  the 
causes  of  this  wonderful  wave  of  enthusiasm  which  swept 
over  the  country,  and  which  bore  us  with  a  resistless  im- 
pulse, first  to  a  political  revolution,  and  then  into  the  dread- 
ful throes  of  war,  from  which  we  emerged  bloody  and  chast- 
ened, but  freed  from  the  "body  of  death"  of  slavery;  but 
as  for  me,  I  can  only  believe  that  the  time  had  come  in  the 
eternal  counsels  of  God  when  the  consummation  of  His 
divine  purpose  for  the  good  of  the  race  required  that  slavery 
should  perish  from  this  land,  and  He  raised  such  instru- 
mentalities as  He  could  to  execute  His  purpose. 


70  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

As  was  so  eloquently  said  not  long  sinco  in  this  House  by 
the  gentleman  from  West  Virginia  [Mr.  WILSON],  "As  I 
look  back  to  that  dread  panorama  after  therlapse  of  twenty 
years  I  see,  or  I  seem  to  see,  the  stately  stoppings  of  that 
Providence  which  was  using  the  wrath  of  man  to  work  out 
His  own  comprehensive  and  beneficent  purpose." 

Into  the  resistless  sweep  and  swirl  of  impulses  and  events 
of  that  great  crisis  young  MILLER  was  drawn  unresisting. 
He  recognized  at  once  the  part  and  the  place  to  which  he 
was  called,  and  accepted  it.  While  serving  in  the  senate  of 
his  State  the  war  came.  He  had  not  reached  his  thirtieth 
year.  He  recognized  the  fact  that  in  a  popular  government 
the  will  of  the  majority  must  be  supreme.  He  recognized 
the  further  fact  that  the  responsibility  of  the  ballot  in  peace 
implies  the  responsibility  of  the  bayonet  in  time  of  war. 

The  very  institution  of  popular  government  implies  that 
minorities  will  be  submissive  to  the  will  of  the  majority 
and  seek  the  rectification  of  supposed  grievances  only  at 
the  ballot-box.  But  suppose  that  minorities  do  not  submit, 
but  resort  to  armed  combinations  too  formidable  to  be  re- 
pressed by  the  civil  power,  what  then  ?  There  remains  but 
one  alternative — the  conflict  of  arms  or  the  death  of  popular 
institutions. 

In  common  with  the  manhood  of  the  North,  Mr.  MILLER 
felt  that  this  Union  and  these  institutions  were  a  sacred  and 
solemn  trust  for  unpeopled  States  and  for  unborn  centu- 
ries— a  trust  which  it  would  be  base  to  betray  and  cowardly 
to  surrender. 

I  shall  never  forget  how,  in  the  spring  of  1862, 1  one  morn- 
ing heard  an  Italian  organ-grinder  upon  the  streets  of  a 
Michigan  city  plying  his  vocation.     Even  his  organ  had 
'  been  set  to  the  popular  impulse  and  was  wailing  forth  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Cutcheon,  of  Michigan.  71 

strains  of  The  Star-Spangled  Banner,  and  as  again  and  again 

the  familiar  refrain — 

Oh,  say  does  the  Star-Spangled  banner  yet  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ? — 

floated  out  •with  plaintive  and  apprehensive  cadence  upon 
the  morning  air  I  fancied  that  in  it  I  heard  the  voice  of  all 
the  oppressed  peoples  of  all  climes  and  all  ages  beseeching  us 
that  the  great  Republic,  the  great  experiment  of  "govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,"  might 
not  perish  from  the  earth.  We  can  not  doubt  that  our 
friend  heard  that  same  voice  and  answered  that  same  im- 
pulse. 

Thus  in  the  evolution  of  this  life  the  strong,  well-nurtured, 
well-cultured,  self-reliant,  and  tempered  young  citizen  and 
statesmen  became  a  soldier. 

Military  command  was  foreign  to  his  life  and  habit,  yet 
he  had  all  the  elements  of  a  commander.  I  venture  to  say 
that  when  he  threw  himself  into  the  ranks  of  war  the  ques- 
tion of  command  or  rank  scarcely  occurred  to  him.  He 
simply  took  the  place  to  which  he  seemed  to  be  called,  the 
place  to  which  he  was  fitted. 

So  from  the  Senate  he  stepped  to  the  head  of  a  regiment, 
the  Twenty-ninth  Indiana,  and  soon  found  himself  com- 
mander of  a  brigade.  It  was  not  that  he  was  ambi- 
tious— not  that  he  was  self-seeking.  It  was  the  outwork- 
ing of  his  formed  character,  of  his  natural  powers. 

I  stood,  a  few  days  ago,  in  the  midst  of  that  silent  city  of 
the  dead,  on  the  prest  where  the  waves  of  war  broke  in  fire 
and  blood  along  the  hills  of  the  Antietam,  and  gazed  in  admi- 
ration upon  the  colossal  statue  in  granite  of  the  private  sol- 
dier of  the  Union.  There,  chiseled  upon  the  enduring  rock, 
is  the  sentiment  which  mustered  armies,  which  won  bat- 
tles, which  restored  the  Union,  "Not  for  ourselves,  but  for 
our  country."  Oh,  glorious  sentiment  of  patriotism,  which 


72  Life  and  Character  of  John' F.  Miller. 

forgets  self,  which  puts  aside  pleasure  and  profit  and  peace 
to  battle  and  suffer  and  die  for  the  coming  millions ! 

Senator  MILLER  became  General  MILLER.  It  is  not  my 
purpose  to  follow  him  in  his  military  career,  for  I  am  study- 
ing character  rather  than  annals.  A  single  instance  will 
suffice.  At  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  December,  1862,  there 
came  a  time  when  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  result  hung 
trembling  in  the  balance.  Van  Cleve's  division,  impetuously 
assailed,  had  yielded  and  fallen  back,  until  the  weight  of 
the  attack  came  upon  MILLER'S  line.  The  enemy  showed  a 
disposition  to  break  through  and  divide  our  army  in  twain. 
MILLER  had  the  river  in  his  front.  Most  men  would  have 
awaited  the  attack  with  such  defensive  preparations  as  they 
could  make.  But  that  was  not  Colonel  MILLER'S  way.  Au- 
dacity and  daring  were  the  characteristics  of  the  man. 

Without  orders  from  any  superior  officer  he  dashed  across 
the  stream,  attacked  and  drove  the  enemy's  infantry,  rushed 
upon  and  captured  his  guns  and  colors,  restored  the  center, 
and  saved  the  right  wing  of  the  army  from  disaster. 

He  assumed  a  very  grave  responsibility.  Had  the  move- 
ment failed  he  might  have  been  court-martialed.  But  it 
succeeded,  and  a  grateful  commander,  recognizing  how  much 
he  owed  to  this  gallant  and  self-reliant  officer,  telegraphed 
the  President  from  the  field  of  battle  recommending  his  pro- 
motion "for  gallantry  on  the  field." 

In  this  action,  though  severely  and  dangerously  wounded, 
Colonel  MILLER  refused  to  leave  the  field,  seeing  that  as  he 
had  taken  the  responsibility  and  made  the  venture  he  should 
stay  by  his  brigade  until  the  victory  was  assured.  This 
courage,  or,  as  the  speech  of  the  plain  people  has  named  it, 
"pluck,"  was  characteristic  of  his  whole  career  as  a  soldier. 

A  wound,  which  well  nigh  proved  fatal,  received  while 
leading  his  brigade  at  Liberty  Gap,  deprived  him  of  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Cutcheon,  of  Michigan.  73 

sight  of  an  eye,  and  for  a  time  retired  him  from  his  com- 
mand. With  many  this  would  have  excused  them  from 
further  service  in  the  field;  but  not  so  with  MILLER.  With 
the  leaden  bullet  still  lodged  in  the  eye-socket  he  returned 
to  the  field  and  to  command,  to  share  with  the  gallant  and 
sturdy  Thomas  in  the  complete  overthrow  of  Hood  at  Nash- 
ville, which  was  the  definite  beginning  of  the  end — the  col- 
lapse of  the  armed  resistance  of  the  Confederacy. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  offered  a  high  commission* 
in  the  regular  Army.  But  he  was  not  a  soldier  by  profes- 
sion or  by  choice.  War  with  him  was  only  the  road  to  peace. 
To  him  the  performance  of  military  duty  was  only  discharg- 
ing one  of  the  great  obligations  of  citizenship.  He  declined 
the  appointment.  Through  the  years  of  excitement  pre- 
ceding the  war,  and  throughout  the  grim  and  trying  experi- 
ences of  the  war  itself,  he  had  never  forgotten  the  dream  of 
his  youth — of  a  home  on  the  sunset  side  of  the  continent. 
Civilization  marches  with  the  sun.  Its  cradle  was  in  the 
Orient,  and  with  a  stately  tidal  sweep  it  has  rolled  around 
the  planet  until  it  has  touched  and  filled  the  Occident. 

By  some  occult  impulse  in  all  ages  men  have  been  im- 
pelled to  "go  west."  General  MILLER  was  under  this  spell. 
Whether  it  was  the  charm  of  the  climate,  or  music  and 
balm  of  "  the  Pacific  Sea,"  or  the  love  of  being  a  factor  in  a 
new  and  rising  empire  that  attracted  him,  I  know  not. 
Perhaps  all  these.  Something  impelled  him  in  the  path  of 
empire,  and  beyond  the  Sierras  was  to  be  his  home,  to  build, 
to  work,  to  die.  There  the  President  of  the  United  States 
made  him  the  chief  fiscal  agent  of  the  Government  upon 
the  Pacific  coast.  Here  he  proved  himself  as  efficient  and 
faithful  in  peace  as  he  had  been  brave  and  patriotic  in  war. 
He  held  the  position  of  collector  of  customs  for  San  Fran- 
cisco for  four  years  and  declined  reappointment. 


74  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

In  this,  as  in  every  other  trust  confided  to  him,  another 
trait  of  his  character  was  prominently  illustrated — his  strict 
integrity.  But  he  did  not  confine  himself  to  the  simple  dis- 
charge of  his  official  duty.  The  "breadth,  energy,  and  pro- 
gressiveness  of  his  mind  impelled  him  to  take  an  active  part 
in  all  the  great  social,  political,  and  industrial  movements 
of  his  State  and  section. 

Three  times  he  was  elected  by  his  party  to  represent  it 
upon  the  electoral  ticket,  and  in  1879  he  became  a  member 
of  the  constitutional  convention  to  relay  the  foundations  of 
the  State. 

But  he  was  pre-eminently  a  man  of  affairs.  With  the 
commercial  and  industrial  development  of  the  Pacific  coast 
he  was  closely  identified.  He  was  among  the  first  to  appre- 
hend the  resources  of  our  Alaskan  possessions  and  seek  their 
intelligent  development.  Everywhere  he  exhibited  the 
traits  which  made  him  which  he  had  grown  to  be — courage, 
firmness,  persistence,  self-reliance,  patriotism,  and  integrity. 

In  1880  he  was  summoned  by  his  adopted  State  to  take  his 
place  in  the  nation's  highest  council.  With  that  capacity  for 
growth  and  adaptation  which  was  characteristic  of  him  in 
every  position  to  which  he  was  called  he  stepted  quietly  and 
easily  into  the  new  sphere  and  turned  all  the  acquirements 
of  his  previous  life  as  student,  lawyer,  Senator,  soldier, 
and  man  of  affairs  to  account  in  the  discharge  of  his  new 
studies.  What  he  lacked  he  set  himself  with  industry  and 
persistence  to  acquire,  and  discharged  the  delicate  duties  of 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations  with  credit 
to  himself  and  honor  to  his  country. 

But  the  zenith  had  been  reached. 

The  shock  which  his  constitution  had  received  from  the 
wounds  and  exposures  of  war  had  left  their  ineffaceable 
mark,  their  inevitable  weakness. 


Address  of  Mr.  Cutcheon,  of  Michigan.  75 

He  had  risen  with  strong  and  steady  step  through  the  gra- 
dations of  honor  and  usefulness  only  at  the  summit  to  feel 
the  world  sink  under  him. 

He  had  achieved  all  that  heart  could  wish  of  earthly 
good.  Wealth,  honor,  fame,  friendship,  and  the  love  of 
friends. 

In  the  midst  of  all,  the  final  summons  came. 

Leaves  have  their  time  to  fall, 
And  flowers  to  wither  at  the  north  wind's  breath, 

And  stars  to  set;  but  all, 
Thou  hast  all  seasons  for  thine  own,  O  Death! 

"It  is  given  unto  all  men  once  to  die."  Whatever  else 
we  may  be  doing,  whithersoever  else  our  feet  may  be  tend- 
ing, one  thing  is  absolutely  sure,  that  every  day  and  every 
hour  we  come  nearer  to — 

The  undiscovered  country  from  whose  bourn 
No  traveler  returns. 

It  is  but  a  question  of  a  few  years,  a  few  days,  a  few  hours. 
And  when  they  are  past  years  dwindle  to  the  span  of  hours. 

The  main  question  is  not  when  or  where,  but  how.  No 
time,  no  place,  no  circumstance  is  inapt  for  dying  when  man 
dies  for  humanity;  and  when,  in  March  last,  JOHN  F.  MIL- 
LER, in  this  city  of  Washington,  gave  up  his  life,  he  but 
completed  the  offering  which  he  made  to  his  country  in  1861. 

This,  then,  is  the  character  which  we  have  disclosed,  and 
which  has  entered  into  and  become  a  part  of  the  nation's 
life. 

A  boy  born  with  the  sturdy  independence  and  love  of  lib- 
erty of  his  Swiss  and  Scotch  ancestry  mingled  with  staunch 
and  staying  qualities  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

A  youth  well  nurtured  and  molded  for  manly  effort  and 
achievement  by  the  blessed  necessity  which  has  been  upon 
our  American  boys  of  making  their  own  way  in  the  world. 

A  young  manhood  adventurous  and  courageous,  firm-knit 


76  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

and  fibrous,  reaching  out  into  new  fields  for  work  and  con- 
quest. 

A  manhood  strong,  masterful,  dutiful,  patriotic,  holding 
not  his  life  dear  for  his  country's  sake,  audacious  at  need, 
puissant  among  men,  subduing  obstacles  to  his  will,  in  the 
fight  to  stay  until  the  dawn  of  victory  and  peace  should 
come  with  its  cooling  dews  and  tender  sunshine  to  soothe 
and  heal  the  wounds  of  war.  A  man  of  affairs  without 
stain  and  without  reproach.  A  statesman  of  broad  views, 
possessed  of  the  confidence  of  his  people  and  the  respect  of 
his  colleagues.  Truly  this  is  an  American  character  of  the 
best  type,  an  evolution  of  government  by  the  people. 

Though  he  has  fallen  when,  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
events,  years  of  honorable  and  useful  life  should  have  lain 
before  him,  we  can  not  say  that  it  is  an  unfinished  life. 

Virtue,  not  rolling  suns,  the  mind  matures ; 
That  life  is  long  which  answers  life's  great  end. 

The  future  of  this  Republic  shall  be  better,  safer,  grander 
for  the  life  of  JOHN  F.  MILLER.  In  that  rising  empire  by 
the  Pacific  which  now  hymns  his  requiem,  may  many  a 
young  man  arise  who  shall  emulate  his  manly  virtues  and 
repeat  his  life. 


Address  of  Mr.  TUCKER,  of  Virginia. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  The  death  of  Hon.  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  Sen- 
ator of  the  State  of  California,  severs  the  tie  of  a  pleasant 
friendship,  not  intimate,  but  real,  between  him  and  myself. 
At  the  request  of  his  colleagues  in  this  House,  I  have  a 
melancholy  satisfaction  in  saying  a  few  words  to  testify  my 
respect  for  the  citizen,  soldier,  and  Senator  whose  loss  the 
country  and  his  native  and  adopted  States  sincerely  deplore. 

His  paternal  stock  was  Virginia,  a  fact  which  creates  a 


Address  of  Mr.  Tucker,  of  Virginia.  77 

kinship  no  Virginian  can  ignore.  From  Franklin  County, 
one  of  the  most  southern  of  those  in  Piedmont  Virginia,  his 
father  emigrated  to  Southern  Indiana,  where  Mr.  MILLER 
was  born  in  1831. 

His  robust  nature  was  nurtured  to  a  hardy  manhood  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  State,  and  he  received  his  legal 
training  at  a  law  school  in  the  city  of  New  York,  whence 
he  emigrated  to  the  then  new  Commonwealth  of  the  Pacific, 
in  whose  service  in  the  United  States  Senate  he  died. 

In  the  meantime  he  had  returned  to  Indiana  and  taken 
honorable  position  in  her  legislature  ;  and  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  civil  war  he  accepted  the  commission  of  colonel 
in  one  of  her  regiments.  During  the  four  years  of  war  he 
performed  his  part  in  that  dread  drama  with  unsurpassed 
heroism,  and,  bearing  on  his  person  the  scars  of  honorable 
wounds  won  in  many  battles,  he  retired  at  the  close  of  the 
struggle  with  the  distinctions  of  numerous  brevets  for 
courage  and  good  conduct,  and  the  well-earned  rank  of  a 
major-general. 

He  returned  ,to  civil  life  in  California,  and  was  in  1881 
sent  by  that  State  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  as  suc- 
cessor to  Mr.  Booth. 

It  was  here  that  I  first  knew  him,  and  our  relations  were 
cordial  and  close  during  the  period  of  the  debates  on  the 
Chinese  question,  in  which  he  took  prominent  position  in 
the  Senate  and  I  took  the  same  side  on  this  floor. 

In  the  maturity  of  his  powers  and  prime  of  his  life,  he 
yielded  as  a  Christian  hero  to  the  summons  of  death,  and 
closed,  as  I  humbly  trust,  a  well-spent  life  in  the  hope  of  a 
blessed  immortality,  inspired  by  the  faith  in  a  Divine  Author 
of  our  Christian  religion. 

In  his  origin,  nativity,  and  life  his  experience  took  in  the 
extremes  and  the  great  middle  valley  of  the  continent. 


78  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

From  the  ancestral  home  in  an  Atlantic  State  to  that  of  his 
birth  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and,  finally,  to  that  on  the 
Pacific  shore,  he  was  an  American  citizen  of  the  truest 
type.  His  destiny  was,  by  origin,  birth,  and  life,  with  the 
American  Union. 

As  a  Representative  of  Virginia  in  this  House  and  as  a 
citizen  of  Virginia  during  the  period  of  civil  convulsion, 
when  his  attitude  was  in  antagonism  to  all  my  opinions,  I 
find  no  difficulty  in  paying  unstinting  tribute  to  his  merits 
as  a  soldier  and  a  statesman.  Differences  of  opinion  breed 
diverse  convictions  as  to  duty,  but  when  the  one  are  honestly 
formed  and  the  other  are  conscientiously  maintained  the 
natural  outgrowth  of  a  chivalrous  magnanimity  is  a  sin- 
cere and  genuine  mutual  respect  and  esteem.  The  man  who 
is  sincere  and  devout  even  in  the  maintenance  of  error  is  a 
nobler  being  than  the  man  who  is  insincere  and  false  in  his 
advocacy  of  truth.  Infallibility  is  not  given  to  man.  "  To 
err  is  human,"  biit  sincerity,  the  love  of  truth,  and  a  con- 
science void  of  offense  toward  God  and  man  are  admirable 
and  noble  though  they  be  allied  to  error. 

On  this  high  plane — once  enemies,  now  friends,  once 
aliens,  now  allies  and  fellow-citizens  of  this  great  Union  of 
republican  Commonwealths— we  can,  we  must,  let  us  vow 
on  the  altar  of  a  common  country  we  will,  forget  and  for- 
give the  past,  will  cease  criminations  and  recriminations, 
and  will  with  hearty  respect  for  honest  differences  of  opinion 
and  convictions  henceforth  unite  in  an  honorable  emulation 
to  make  the  reunion  of  the  States  more  glorious  than  the 
old  Union,  in  conserving  the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  in 
promoting  the  welfare  and  progress  of  our  whole  country  in 
the  great  future  of  its  destiny. 

I  believe  that  such  were  the  feelings  of  the  Senator  whose 
memory  we  this  day  honor.  His  character  and  his  abilities 
were  broad  and  large  enough  to  embrace  the  whole  Union. 


Address  of  Mr.  Butterworth,  of  Ohio.  79 

His  courage,  as  a  personal  quality,  was  unquestionable. 
It  Avas  of  the  aggressive  type.  He  felt  the  gaudium  certa- 
minis  when  war  raged.  To  him  danger  was  delight,  his  ex- 
posure to  it  an  exhilaration.  When  prudence  prompted 
hesitancy  in  others  his  undaunted  spirit  impelled  him  to 
audacity  to  achieve  what  doubt  deemed  impossible.  The 
story  of  his  military  career  is  replete  with  all  that  makes 
the  history  of  a  dashing  cavalier  and  a  knightly  hero. 

But  when  war  closed  and  peace  came  his  combative  spirit 
rested  beneath  the  shadow  of  its  wings.  The  arm  uplifted 
in  battle  embraced  his  former  foe  in  the  grasp  of  a  restored 
brotherhood.  He  gave  the  solid  talents  and  the  heroic  char- 
acter he  had  devoted  to  his  country  on  the  battlefield  to  the 
healing  of  the  wounds  of  war  and  to  the  culture  of  the  arts 
of  peace. 

May  we  not  hope  that  those  who  survive  him  may  follow  this 
noble  example.  Let  us  exorcise  from  our  debates  the  demon 
of  hate  and  bitter  memories  and  link  the  earnest  efforts  of 
the  living  to  the  patriotism  and  magnanimity  of  the  lamented 
dead,  in  preserving  the  Union  for  which  he  fought,  with  all 
the  rights  of  the  States  and  the  people  under  the  Constitution, 
for  which  we  should  all  contend,  as  the  heritage  of  his  and 
our  posterity  to  the  remotest  generations! 


Address  of  Mr.  BUTTERWORTH,  of  Ohio. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  General  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  late  United  States 
Senator  from  California,  was  the  son  of  a  pioneer  in  the  great 
West.  He  was  a  farmer's  boy  and  learned  stability  at  the 
plow.  His  father,  and  he  with  him,  encountered  early  in  life 
those  vicissitudes  which  develop  and  strengthen  character 
and  fit  men  for  important  duties  in  life.  At  the  hearthstone 


80  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

at  which  General  MILLER  was  nurtured  there  were  none  but 
healthful  influences.  His  father  belonged  to  the  yeomanry 
of  the  land,  that  sterling  class  that  gives  to  our  country  its 
strength  in  peace  and  its  valor  in  war.  There  came  to  his 
home  neither  the  poverty  that  pinches  nor  the  wealth  that  be- 
comes a  burden.  Through  industry  and  frugality  the  elder 
Miller  was  enabled  to  dispense  charity,  which  he  did  without 
ostentation. 

Senator  MILLER'S  mother  was  a  woman  who  possessed 
splendid  native  ability,  and  realized,  of  a  truth,  that  those 
who  hold  the  guiding-strings  above  the  children  at  the  hearth- 
stone exercise  a  mightier  influence  in  the  Republic  than  those 
who  make  its  laws.  She  knew,  as  did  her  husband,  that  at 
the  hearthstones  of  America  the  sure  and  lasting  foundations 
of  our  free  government  are  laid.  She  realized  as  well  that 
the  country  could  not  safely  trust  the  man  whose  palate  had 
a  quicker  sensation  than  his  heart,  and  that  in  our  country 
pure  hearts  are  mightier  for  the  defense  of  freedom  than 
strong  arms.  She,  with  her  husband,  appreciated  the  advan- 
tages of  liberal  education;  and  hence,  though  opportunities 
for  schooling  were  not  ample  as  now,  yet  the  children  of  that 
household  went  forth  with  minds  well  trained  and  stored 
with  useful  knowledge.  They  did  not  bear  with  them  wealth 
which  is  estimated  in  shekels,  but  had  for  their  portion  a  bet- 
ter heritage,  rich  mental  furnishing,  hearts  devoted  to  duty, 
untiring  industry,  all  supplemented  and  upheld  by  a  rugged 
honesty  that  does  not  wear  away  by  use. 

With  such  surroundings,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  children 
who  went  forth  from  the  Miller  homestead  after  having 
grown  to  manhood  should  each  have  become  a  blessing  to  the 
community  in  the  midst  of  which  he  cast  his  lot.  Blessed 
with  great  physical  strength  and  a  sound  mind,  and  with  a 
quickened  sense  of  duty  to  God  and  his  fellow-men,  General 
MILLER  began  his  career  in  life.  I  will  not  trace  that  career; 


'Address  of  Mr.  Butter 'worth,  of  Ohio.  81 

others  have;  and  others  will  bear  evidence  that  it  was  in  many 
things  brilliant,  in  all  things  worthy.  I  was  not  intimate 
with  him,  but  our  families  were  so  related  through  marriage 
that  I  had  opportunity  to  learn  something  of  the  character- 
istics of  the  family  and  the  stern  virtues  which  marked  the 
character  of  the  general. 

An  intimate  acquaintance  with  General  MILLER  was  not 
essential  to  learn  that  he  was  a  man  of  mark.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  he  was  brilliant.  His  intellect  shone  rather  with 
a  sure  and  steady  light.  His  mind  was  well  balanced,  and 
of  him  I  think  it  can  be  as  truly  said  as  of  any  man  in  public 
life  that  in  deciding  upon  a  course  of  action  duty  was  supreme. 
Our  country  does  not  find  its  greatest  security  in  the  fact  that 
there  are  men  among  us  who  are  transcendently  brilliant; 
whose  exploits  in  the  field  and  in  the  forum  challenge  the  at- 
tention and  admiration  of  the  world.  They  come  but  to  per- 
form a  service  which  requires  possibly  but  a  day  or  a  year, 
or  at  most  a  half  a  score  of  years — a  service  that  involves  but 
one  controlling  thought;  and  not  unfrequently  the  heart  is  not 
co-laborer  with  the  hand,  and  the  voice  too  frequently  but 
echoes  sentiments  that  are  the  obvious  outgrowth  of  existing 
conditions,  and  which  are  not  coined  from  the  crucible  of  se- 
rious thought  and  reflection,  nor  come  of  inspiration  which 
sometimes  springs  from  a  life  devoted  to  duty. 

The  greater  security  is  found  in  the  development  of  those 
moral  and  intellectual  conditions  which  are  born  of  the  influ- 
ences which  surrounded  and  pervaded  the  home  of  General 
MILLER'S  childhood.  He  had  been  taught  to  listen  to  the 
"still  small  voice"  that  comes  in  the  hush  of  the  night  and 
teaches  as  never  man  taught.  He  had  learned  to  lean  upon 
that  stronger  arm,  and  as  into  the  valley  and  shadow  he  walked 
that  voice  comforted  him  and  that  arm  sustained  him  even 

to  the  end.     He  has  passed  away  from  among  us.     That  MIL- 
9318 5 


82  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

LER  lived  and  that  lie  died  we  know;  but  what  that  death 
portends,  what  it  is,  except  that  under  its  strange  influences 
the  heart  ceases  to  beat,  the  lips  become  dumb,  the  eyes  sight- 
less, and  the  ears  stopped  up,  and  the  flesh  grows  cold  and 
crumbles  into  dust,  we  do  not  know.  That  we,  too,  must  die 
we  also  know.  That  it  is  better  to  live  well  seems  clear  even 
according  to  the  world's  philosophy,  that  which  is  most  ma- 
terialistic; for  whether  death  ends  all  or  is  but  the  beginning 
of  another  life,  the  experience  of  mankind  would  seem  to 
leave  no  doubt  that  things  are  so  ordered  that  our  chief  joy 
will  be  found  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  duty. 

This  I  know  to  have  been  the  abiding  faith  of  General 
MILLER.  It  was  his  struggle  to  walk  in  the  light  and  to  bear 
testimony  in  his  life  (not  pretending  to  be  free  from  frailties) 
to  the  truth  that  was  great  within  him.  The  calm  resigna- 
tion he  manifested  on  his  approaching  dissolution,  the  perfect 
confidence  he  had  that  this  life  is  but  the  germ  of  immortality, 
enabled  the  believer  to  say,  "It  is  well  with  him."  As  I 
stood  beside  the  dead,  I  found  myself  repeating  the  words  of 
Cato: 

It  must  be  r o, — Plato,  thou  reasonest  well ! — 

Else  whence  this  pleasing  hope,  this  fond  desire, 

This  longing  after  immortality? 

Or  whence  this  secret  dread,  and  inward  horror, 

Of  falling  into  naught?    Why  shrinks  the  soul 

Back  on  herself,  and  startles  at  destruction  ? 

"Tis  the  divinity  that  stirs  within  us  ; 

Tis  heaven  itself  that  points  out  an  hereafter, 

And  intimates  eternity  to  man. 

Whether  in  the  field  where  sin  is  atoned  by  the  shedding 
of  blood,  whether  in  the  Senate  or  in  the  quiet  walks  of  life, 
JOHN  F.  MILLER  was  guided  and  upheld  by  an  unwavering 
belief  in  the  precepts  and  example  of  the  Nazarene.  Sup- 
ported by  that  Christian  faith,  he  placed  his  own  in  the 
mighty  but  unseen  hand  of  the  Eternal  Father,  and  with 


Address  of  Mr.  McKenna.  of  California.  83 

unfaltering  step  and  cheering  hope  he  walked  through  the 
shadows  into  that  land  from  which,  though  separated  from 
us  by  a  thin  veil  which  a  straw  might  rend,  no  echoes  come. 
General  MILLER  won  fame  on  the  field  of  battle.  He  won 
distinction  and  honor  in  the  Senate.  He  won  riches  in  the 
field  of  business  enterprise.  His  fame  may  not  outlast  this 
generation,  the  honor  he  won  be  forgot,  his  riches  must  per- 
ish, but  the  sublime  faith  I  have  mentioned  abides  with  him 
still.  It  is  immortal  as  the  spirit  it  leavens.  His  last  wit- 
ness was  that  compared  to  this  faith  the  honors  he  had  won 
were  dross — were  nothing.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  do  honor  to 
the  memory  of  such  a  man  as  General  MILLER,  whose  private 
and  public  life  was  full  of  usefulness  and  without  reproach. 
Such  lives  are  too  few,  the  influence  of  such  examples  too 
little  heeded. 


Address  of  Mr.  McKENNA,  of  California. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  Theodore  Parker  said,  "  It  is  no  merit  in  a 
man  to  die."  Grief  will  not  pause  to  dispute  it.  The  de- 
ceased is  not  concerned.  "Nor  praise,  nor  blame,  nor  love, 
nor  hate,  nothing  can  touch  him  further."  But  death  may 
instruct  the  living.  To  most  of  us  life  is  the  greatest  bless- 
ing ;  whatever  of  happiness  we  enjoy  is  in  it.  Whatever  is 
tangible  in  hope  or  expectation  can  only  be  realized  through 
it,  and  even  the  Christian  gentleman,  whose  faith  assures 
him  of  eternal  bliss,  shrinks  shuddering  from  that  which  he 
yet  deems  the  portal  of  paradise. 

It  is  a  wise  provision  that  death,  though  as  "common  as 
the  most  vulgar  thing  to  sense,"  and  always  to  be  expected, 
yet  is  always  sudden.  In  its  suddenness  is  the  emphasis  of 
its  lesson.  It  admonishes  by  shock  mortality  of  immortality. 
It  points  from  time  to  eternity,  and  its  victim  must  have 


84  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. ' 

indeed  passed  a  barren  existence  if  he  leave  not  precept  to 
assist  to  endure  earth  or  deserve  heaven. 

In  Senator  MILLER'S  life  there  were  sweet  lessons  for  both. 
In  every  place  and  office  he  was  adequate ;  in  every  relation 
exact  and  dutiful.  His  ability  was  animated  and  urged  by 
good  intention.  He  disdained  showing  effect ;  he  dreamed  no 
dreams;  he  sought  results  and  accomplished  them.  Whether 
we  depict  him  as  citizen  or  soldier  or  Senator  or  husband  or 
father,  in  private  station  or  public  place,  praise  swells  to 
eulogy  and  a  nation  applauds. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  been  summoned  at  the  latest  minute 
to  take  another's  place.  I  could  not  refuse.  I  dislike  to 
refer  to  it.  I  dare  not  apologize.  Had  I  longer  time  to  pre- 
pare and  greater  ability  I  should  have  been  anticipated  and 
excelled  by  the  eloquent  gentlemen  who  have  preceded  me 
in  tribute  to  the  dead  Senator,  and  every  mark  of  respect- 
California  is  eager  to  show  her  departed  representative  will 
be  satisfied  by  my  colleague  who  succeeds  me.  Mine  is  a 
suitable  but  subordinate  part.  Others  have  the  gracious 
office  of  eulogy :  mine  is  to  describe  the  performance  of  a 
trust. 

I  was  deputed  with  others,  the  country's  proxy,  to  convey 
the  remains  of  Senator  MILLER  to  the  Pacific  coast.  We 
executed  the  trust.  Starting  from  the  nation's  capital,  where 
his  life  was  rounded  and  completed,  yet  ended,  we  speeded 
to  the  Mississippi  and  over  it,  to  the  Missouri  and  over  it, 
across  the  plains  and  over  the  mountains,  through  snow- 
sheds  and  tunnels ;  on,  on,  at  the  rising  of  the  sun,  under  his 
meridian  beams,  and  at  his  setting ;  on,  on,  under  the  solemn 
stars ;  on,  along  the  path  of  empire  to  its  limits  at  the  ocean, 
compassing  a  continent  in  a  deed  of  tributary  love. 

At  Colfax,  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierras,  midst  the 
snow  silently  falling,  we  fulfilled  the  nation's  denotation  by 


Address  of  J/r.  Morrow,  of  California.  85 

delivering  our  charge  to  the  soldier  comrades  of  the  departed 
general,  prefigured  the  resurrection,  and  consoled  wife  and 
daughter  and  friends  with  the  blessed  hope  of  reunion  in 
heaven.  Loving  hands  bore  him  to  the  grave.  Loving 
hands  placed  him  in  it ;  and  there  he  peacefully  reposes  in 
the  State  he  loved  and  served,  overlooking  its  fair  city  and 
to  ocean  view  while  its  waters  as  they  beat  against  the  coast 
sound  everlasting  earthly  farewells,  everlasting  earthly  fare- 
wells. 


Address  of  Mr.  MORROW,  of  California. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  The  tribute  of  respect  already  paid  to  the 
memory  of  the  late  Senator  MILLER  by  those  who  were  im- 
mediately associated  with  him  in  public  affairs  testifies  how 
worthily  he  had  discharged  the  public  duties  he  had  assumed 
to  perform  in  one  of  the  most  important  and  honorable  sta- 
tions in  the  Republic.  His  career  was  an  active  and  an 
eventful  one,  and  the  distinction  he  attained  among  his 
fellow-men  was  the  result  of  honest,  laborious,  and  well- 
directed  efforts  in  public  service. 

The  leading  incidents  of  his  life  may  be  briefly  told. 

Born  in  Union  County,  Indiana,  in  the  year  1831,  he  passed 
his  youth  and  school  days  in  the  midst  of  scenes  and  adven- 
tures always  associated  with  the  occupation  and  development 
of  a  new  country. 

He  was  perhaps  spared  some  of  the  privations  encountered 
by  many  young  men  in  the  West  by  reason  of  the  fact  that 
his  parents  were  able  to  give  him  the  advantages  of  a  good 
education  before  he  took  his  start  in  life  ;  but  even  under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances  no  young  man  could  grow  to 
manhood  in  the  West  at  that  time  without  having  his  mettle 
tested  in  many  ways.  That  young  MILLER  went  through 


86  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

the  usual  ordeal  with  credit  to  himself  is  shown  by  the  self- 
command  and  perfect  confidence  in  himself  he  displayed  in 
after  years  when  confronted  with  new  and  unexpected  emer- 
gencies. 

He  began  the  study  of  law  at  an  early  age,  and  graduated 
with  distinction  in  1852  from  the  New  York  State  Law  School. 
The  next  year  we  find  him  in  California,  practicing  his  pro- 
fession with  success  at  a  bar  noted  for  the  ability  of  its  law- 
yers and  the  wide  range  of  its  litigation. 

In  1855  he  returned  to  Indiana  in  consequence  of  the  sup- 
posed serious  illness  of  his  mother,  to  whom  he  was  greatly 
devoted.  Her  early  recovery  gave  him  the  opportunity  of 
resuming  his  professional  and  business  relations  in  California, 
but  the  attractions  of  his  family  home  and  the  inducements 
there  offered  him  were  sufficient  to  prevent  his  immediate 
return  to  the  Golden  State. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  Mr.  MILLER  was  a  sen- 
ator in  the  Indiana  State  legislature,  where  he  had  achieved 
an  enviable  reputation  for  close  attention  to  official  duties 
and  had  demonstrated  his  capacity  as  a  man  of  affairs. 

He  thus  early  in  life  won  public  confidence  without  any  of 
the  meretricious  devices  of  the  politician,  and  gained  respect 
and  esteem  without  any  compromise  with  his  dignity  or  self- 
respect. 

His  valor  and  patriotism  drew  him  into  the  Army  in  1861. 
Like  many  of  our  heroes  of  that  period,  he  exchanged  the 
duties  of  civil  life  for  the  dangers  of  the  field  without  hesita- 
tion. The  transition  was  easy  and  in  accord  with  his  active 
disposition,  his  undaunted  courage,  and  his  faith  in  the 
integrity  and  perpetuity  of  the  Union. 

His  military  career  was  one  of  honorable  distinction  from 
first  to  last.  Entering  the  Army  as  colonel  of  the  Twenty- 
ninth  Indiana  Volunteers,  he  attained  the  rank  of  brevet 


Address  of  Mr.  Morrow,  of  California.  87 

major-general,  rendering  gallant  services  in  every  rank  and 
station  to  which  he  was  assigned.  At  Stone  River,  Liberty 
Gap,  and  Nashville  he  was  particularly  conspicuous  as  a  brave 
and  skillful  commander.  It  will  not  be  necessary  for  me  to 
repeat  the  incidents  of  his  splendid  military  service.  They 
have  been  outlined  in  military  orders,  preserved  in  the  rec- 
ords of  his  regiment,  brigade,  and  division,  and  have  become 
a  part  of  the  brilliant  and  enduring  history  of  this  great 
country. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  General  MILLER  declined  further 
employment  in  the  Army,  and,  although  suffering  from 
severe  wounds,  he  proceeded  to  California  to  engage  in  the 
active  duties  of  his  profession.  It  was  at  this  period  that  I 
first  met  him,  and  the  acquaintance  then  formed  soon  ripened 
into  a  friendship  that  continued  down  to  the  day  of  his  death. 

Soon  after  General  MILLER  arrived  in  California  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Johnson  collector  of  the  port  of  San 
Francisco.  He  held  the  office  for  four  years,  discharging  its 
duties  with  great  efficiency  and  good  judgment,  and  gaining 
the  entire  confidence  of  the  business  community. 

For  ten  years  he  was  a  leading  officer  of  the  Alaska  Com- 
mercial Company,  a  well-known  corporation  on  the  Pacific 
coast.  The  character  and  policy  of  this  corporation  has  often 
been  commended,  officially  and  otherwise,  for  its  just  and 
honorable  dealings  with  the  Government  and  its  wise  and 
generous  treatment  of  employe's.  General  MILLER'S  associa- 
tion with  an  enterprise  of  this  reputation  shows  that  in  pri- 
vate business  as  well  as  in  public  service  he  earned  the  grati- 
tude of  good  people  by  furnishing  an  example  worthy  of 
imitation. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  mention  that  General  MILLER  never 
neglected  his  duties  as  a  citizen.  In  all  his  business  relations 
he  was  public  spirited  and  generous.  He  was  an  ardent 
Republican,  and  always  ready  to  labor  for  the  success  of  his 


88  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

party,  believing  in  its  principles  and  having  faith  in  the 
ability  of  the  people  to  reach  reform  in  the  administration 
of  Government  affairs  through  party  organization. 

In  1879  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention of  California  and  participated  in  the  formation  of 
our  present  constitution.  In  1881  he  was  elected  a  United 
States  Senator  by  the  legislature  of  California  for  the  term 
of  six  years.  As  a  Senator  his  services  were  characterized 
by  great  attention  to  the  detail  of  Congressional  business  in 
which  the  people  of  his  State  were  interested.  He  was  in  the 
habit  of  responding  promptly  and  pleasantly  to  every  de- 
mand made  upon  him  for  a  proper  service.  But  with  all  his 
kindness  of  disposition  he  did  not  permit  himself  to  be  occu- 
pied with  trifling  matters  to  the  exclusion  of  more  important 
business. 

He  was  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  State  and 
looked  forward  with  great  anxiety  to  the  time  when  Con- 
gressional legislation  or  other  action  on  the  part  of  the  Gen- 
eral Government  would  solve  some  of  the  difficulties  per- 
taining to  our  peculiar  position  on  the  Pacific  coast.  He  was 
eminently  a  statesman  of  enlarged  views,  and,  being  well  in- 
formed on  all  the  leading  questions  of  the  day,  was  able  to 
render  to  the  nation  most  important  service. 

His  fame  as  a  soldier  and  a  statesman  was  not  the  gift  of 
fortune  or  the  chance  of  reckless  adventure,  but  the  hard- 
earned  reward  for  faithful  devotion  to  the  welfare  and  glory 
of  his  country.  He  grew  to  commanding  position  with  an 
adaptability  of  capacity  which  always  marks  the  vigor  of 
well-equipped  manhood  where  the  social  forces  are  active 
and  aggressive. 

He  was  perhaps  known  to  but  few  members  of  this  House, 
but  the  place  he  occupied  in  the  affairs  of  the  country  was 
distinctly  marked  and  his  influence  everywhere  felt.  This 
House,  therefore,  performs  its  solemn  duty  on  this  occasion 


Address  of  Mr.  Morrow,  of  California.  89 

with  the  full  knowledge  that  a  page  in  its  history  is  being 
given  to  one  who  achieved  renown  as  the  just  distinction 
accorded  to  heroic  and  patriotic  public  service. 

Mr.  Emerson,  in  one  of  his  admirable  essays,  discourses 
on  the  fact  that  many  men  of  great  figure  are  known  to  his- 
tory by  deeds  which  do  not  appear  to  justify  their  fame. 
"  We  cannot,"  he  says,  "find  the  smallest  part  of  the  personal 
weight  of  Washington  in  the  narrative  of  his  exploits,"  and 
he  mentions  Philip  Sidney,  the  Earl  of  Essex,  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh,  and  others,  as  men  of  distinction  who  accomplished 
but  few  deeds  worthy  of  historical  mention.  It  is  a  fact  that 
the  character  of  a  man  cannot  be  determined  by  the  mere  in- 
cidents of  his  life,  no  more  than  can  the  mass  of  the  mount- 
ain be  ascertained  by  measuring  the  altitude  of  its  promi- 
nent peaks.  In  human  nature,  as  elsewhere,  the  magnitude 
of  force  and  power  is  not  always  disclosed  by  what  is  seen. 
Back  of  the  visible  action  there  may  be  a  mental  and  moral 
combination,  moving  with  certainty  and  winning  success 
with  apparent  ease  in  grave  emergencies.  A  man  thus  or- 
ganized has  character,  and  he  may  have  genius.  "He  con- 
quers because  his  arrival  alters  the  face  of  affairs." 

Senator  MILLER  possessed  this  latent  power  in  a  remark- 
able degree,  and  always  commanded  respect  and  confidence, 
not  so  much  because  of  what  he  said  or  did,  but  because  it 
was  apparent  that  he  could  say  and  do  much  more  if  it  were 
necessary. 

The  career  of  Senator  MILLER  was  incomplete.  The  full 
measure  of  his  capacity  had  not  been  attained.  He  had  plans 
for  the  future,  and  had  his  life  been  spared  his  mature  judg- 
ment and  large  experience  would  have  been  of  untold  value 
in  the  councils  of  the  nation.  He  felt  that  he  could  be  of 
service  to  his  country,  and  even  when  his  malady  had  become 
dangerous  he  refused  to  lay  aside  his  work  for  needed  rest. 
With  the  restless  spirit  of  the  wounded  but  gallant  soldier 


90  Life  and  Character  of  John  F.  Miller. 

who  hears  a  summons  in  the  notes  of  preparation  for  the 
coming  battle,  Senator  MILLER  came  from  his  distant  home 
at  the  commencement  of  the  present  session  of  Congress  to 
engage  in  the  active  duties  of  legislation. 

He  knew  the  Angel  of  Death  had  come  very  near  to  him 
before — 

And  wondered  why  he  stayed  his  dart, 
Yet  quailed  not,  but  could  meet  him  so, 
As  any  lesser  friend  or  foe. 

Such  serene  courage  might  again  dismiss  the  unwelcome 
messenger.  He  could  not  weakly  surrender  even  to  the  in- 
evitable, but  the  struggle  was  all  in  vain.  The  energies  of 
his  scared  and  overtaxed  frame  had  broken  from  their  natural 
channels  and  no  human  skill  could  restrain  their  wasting 
current. 

The  end  came,  and  the  spirit  of  a  brave  man  found  rest. 

Fair  life  to  pulseless  silence  wed. 

We  all  remember  the  solemn  ceremony  in  this  Capitol  in 
memory  of  the  deceased  Senator,  and  the  mournful  pageant 
escorting  his  remains  to  their  final  sepulcher  at  Lone  Mount- 
ain, by  the  restless  sea.  It  was  a  fitting  and  deserved  tribute 
to  one  whose  life  and  character  are  worthy  of  all  praise. 
Kind  father,  devoted  husband,  faithful  friend,  patriotic  citi- 
zen and  statesman,  farewell !  California  has  had  other  sons 
fall  on  the  field  of  duty,  but  the  waves  of  the  Pacific  have 
chanted  no  sadder  requiem  than  they  do  to-day  over  the 
remains  of  JOHN  FRANKLIN  MILLER. 

The  question  being  taken  on  the  resolutions,  they  were 
unanimously  adopted. 

And  then,  in  accordance  with  the  concluding  resolution,  the 
House  (at  4  o'clock  and  35  minutes  p.  m.)  adjourned. 

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